The Lyronia Chronicle
by Martel Irasia
Summary: Luna has always fancied the Symphonia world. Even going so far as to create her own version where she included her friends as characters. But she never expected that the idea would live up to anything. So, imagine her surprise when she and her friends are not only pulled into the game world, but into her version as well.
1. An Ordinary Day?

**Well hello everyone, and yes, I am writing yet another Tales of Symphonia fan-fiction, but this one is going to be very different. At least, I'd like to hope that no one has thought of this before, and if anyone else has tried this before, then I'm sorry, I didn't know. I've had this idea for ages, and so I'm going with it. Anyway, I do not own the characters of Tales of Symphonia, only the OC's that I bring into the story. And before you make the confusing mistake again, none of my OC's are self-inserts.**

**Should be lots of fun, right? Anyway, here we go.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – An Ordinary Day?**

Quiet. It was oddly and eerily quiet in the house as Luna woke up and looked around her room. Her older sister hadn't woken her yet, and her little brother had yet to charge into the room and bombard her with his constant hyperactivity. Luna took a deep breath and stared at the crimson walls of her room and after a moment threw the black comforter off of her body. Her pajamas were a dark violet color and she walked over to her dresser. If she remembered correctly, today was the day that she was going to the Anime Convention with her friends. Well, at least something good would come out of today.

Without warning her bedroom door crashed open and in came the one person in the world that she wished didn't even exist. Martin, her step-father, stood in the doorway, glaring at her in her PJ's before he turned and stormed down the hallway. Luna felt like growling at him but decided against it as she walked over to close the door. A streak of color rushed by her and this time she did growl as she turned to look at her little brother. Chris was still only six years old, but he was so annoying and always so hyper.

"Get out of my room, Chris!" She shouted and the little boy stared up at her from the toy airplane in his hands. He stuck his tongue out at her and hopped onto her bed. "I need to get dressed!" Luna cried again as she walked over and grabbed his small wrist before leading the child out of her room. "Come back in a few minutes, moron."

She closed the door and was grateful for the blissful silence that invaded her room with the door closed and locked. Luna walked over to her closet and opened the doors. There, sitting carefully on a hanger, was her cosplay outfit. Her friends had insisted they cosplay Tales of Symphonia characters and then do Tales of the Abyss for the convention. It had been a real pain for Luna to try and make the outfits for herself, but she had managed all the same. She'd had to ask for some help from her mother, but thankfully the costumes were made out of good quality material.

Luna smiled as she began pulling on the Colette costume, for which she would have to add a wig to make it look proper. Luna's hair was more naturally a match to Tear's hair color than it was to Colette's. She had to pull her hair back and wear a sort of swim cap in order to get the wig to sit properly on her head, and it was itchy as all hell, but she tried not to scratch to avoid making the wig fall off.

Briefly she glanced over at her desk, where a thick old notebook sat. Luna walked over to it and flipped open the cover. Inside was the name 'Lyronia' in big bold letters, though the hand script was childish. She smiled softly and closed the cover, remembering back to when she'd first started writing the story. It had been after Josh had first mentioned his two rich friends, Felicia and Morgan, who were brother and sister. She'd wanted to write a story with all of her friends in it, and though she didn't know Morgan and Felicia personally, she included them. But the story hadn't gotten far and over time she'd forgotten about it. With a sigh, she shook her head and walked over to where she had her other costume sitting.

She packed the Tear costume into her bag, thankful that she didn't have to pack a wig for that outfit. Luna was certain she was going to have a confrontation with her step-father again as always, but there was little avoiding any confrontation with the man. He was a total ass and a disgusting pig more than that, but she had to put up with it regardless. She pulled her pack onto her back and unlocked her bedroom door, which slammed open immediately, revealing the familiar angry face of Martin.

Martin was a man in his mid to late forties, with a constantly sour expression and a balding head. His puce green eyes were hell to look into, and his teeth were rotten and yellowed from all the smoking and drinking he did. Luna took a step back away from him but he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her down the stairs and into the kitchen of their small family home. "Lauren, your daughter is dressing like a freak again!" He yelled and pushed Luna forward to face her mother.

A slender woman with the same light brown hair, cut waist length, turned around and smiled at them. Lauren was Luna's mother, but she was a bit ditsy and flighty at times. "Oh, hello, honey." Her mother's soft, honeyed voice drifted over to them. "Darling, she's going out with her friends for a week. I hardly see that it matters what she's wearing." Her mother said with a bright smile as she moved forward and hugged Luna, but it was brief and Luna barely felt the love from her mother.

Martin stared at her. "Going away for a week, huh?" He contemplated that for a moment and then a nasty grin broke across his face. "Excellent. It'd be better if you never came back, but go. Get away from this place." He waved his hand, as if in doing so he displayed the power and authority to dismiss her from his presence.

Luna rolled her eyes and walked to the front door. "Honey, what about breakfast?" She heard her mother's voice call out from the kitchen. Just then a car horn honked and Luna knew that her friends were here. She turned her head for a moment. "I'll just pick something up at Dunkin' Donuts! Bye mom!" She called back and before getting a response, she ran out the door.

* * *

"Well, here's the hotel." Josh, who was dressed in his best, and cosplaying as Zelos, said as they approached the fancy looking hotel. "We have the best rooms in the house, courtesy of my father." He was smiling brightly. For his Tales of the Abyss cosplay, he was going to be Guy, which would suit him better then the pompous Zelos cosplay he was starting with.

"Damn, this place is huge!" Kaylee, Luna's best friend since second grade, and the one who dared to cosplay as Sheena and Natalia from the two games, said as she cast a look at Luna. She was glad that she had the hair to cosplay Sheena, and the proper body type to fill the costume the right way. Luna never could have pulled it off, and it made more sense for her to cosplay Colette anyway. "Hey, Josh?"

Josh looked up at her while pulling some of the luggage from the car. "Yeah, what is it my voluptuous hunny?" He said, adding a laugh as he got into character so easily. Kaylee frowned, not good. He was going to go from perverted pig to a complete gentleman who was supposed to be afraid of women. It was a nice contrast though.

Kaylee stared at Josh as he fixed a reddish pink wig on the top of his head, covering his blonde hair that was naturally styled like Guy from Tales of the Abyss. "Aren't we supposed to meet two other people here?" She asked and looked at Luna, knowing that the other girl was wondering the same thing.

Josh looked up and nodded. "Yeah, my friends Felicia and her brother Morgan are supposed to meet us inside the lobby." He said easily enough.

Kaylee sighed and went to grab her luggage, just as Luna went and got hers together as well. Kaylee often wondered why Luna kept her backpack on her at all times, but she guessed it wasn't a bad idea to keep a bag with you at all times. She shouldered her rucksack and followed Josh and Luna into the main lobby of the hotel. Josh's father owned five hotels like this across the country, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he would pull some strings for his son and his friends to stay in a place like this.

There was a girl dressed like Celsius at the main desk, glaring at the clerk, arguing and gesticulating wildly with her hands. Kaylee almost wondered if she would use her ice powers on the guy when she remembered that the girl could only be cosplaying. The guy standing next to her, however, was wearing a very convincing Kratos cosplay. As Josh walked over, the guy smiled and walked over, immediately falling into conversation with Josh. Luna looked like she felt out of place, which wasn't surprising; she was the poorest person in the group.

"Look, come on! All I'm asking for is a private room all for me, and I don't want any staff from this hotel bothering me when I'm in there." Celsius was saying as Kaylee walked over. Josh was still conversing with Kratos while Kaylee helped Luna put her bags on the floor.

Josh eventually turned to look at Kaylee and Luna. "Girls, this is Morgan, and this lovely lady is Felicia." He said, indicating the Celsius girl.

The girl took that exact moment to turn around and notice the rest of them. "Oh, Josh!" she exclaimed happily and walked over. "Can you tell the idiot to give me what I want? Your father is the one who paid for all our rooms, so we deserve our privacy." Before letting him answer her, or protest, she looked at Kaylee and Luna. "So you must be the two high school girls that Josh likes to talk about so much." She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes, which were blue enough to match Celsius' own. "I'm Felicia."

Kaylee nodded and noticed Luna looked even more uncomfortable. "I'm Kaylee Silva. This is Luna Almiras. She's a bit shy at first, but once she gets to know you, she'll open up a bit more." Kaylee said brightly as Felicia's eyes scanned Luna with disdain, but she masked the emotion by turning to her brother and speaking quietly to him.

"I don't like her." Luna's voice said, interrupting Kaylee from trying to eavesdrop.

Kaylee looked at the two snobby rich kids and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't like her much either. I hope her brother isn't like that." She whispered back to her friend.

Morgan took that moment to turn to them with a warm smile. He walked forward and took Luna's right hand in his left and lifted it to his lips. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Chosen." He said in a voice very similar to Kratos' own from the English version of the game. Kaylee looked over and saw Luna staring blankly at her hand, her cheeks flushing red as a rose.

Josh smiled from the sidelines. "Yeah, Morgan is a real charmer. He and I had a sort of contest to see who would actually cosplay Zelos. Can you tell who won?" He asked, flaunting his pink outfit like it was something to be utterly proud of.

Kaylee rolled her eyes as Felicia laughed sharply. "I can hardly believe you two even wanted to compete over who played Zelos. Seriously, a man who wears pink, pathetic." Felicia said in a mocking tone. Okay, Kaylee was really starting to dislike this girl.

"So, Felicia, who are you cosplaying from Tales of the Abyss?" Luna asked, breaking the tension and silence between the three rich kids. Kaylee was rather thankful for that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know who Felicia was going to play from Abyss.

Felicia just smiled mischievously. "Oh, I thought about playing Natalia but figured I'm a spoiled rich girl already so why bother? That and Morgan told me that one of us was already playing her, so I gave up on that. Then, I looked at the God Generals and chose to play Sync. His figure is feminine enough that I can pull it off if I wish." She said very matter-of-factly.

Kaylee got the distinct feeling that if the five of them were really in a world like Symphonia or Abyss, that Felicia would be the stuck-up, arrogant villain. There was no doubt that she would play such a character.

Morgan broke the silence next, and pulled Kaylee from her dark thoughts. "I chose to play Asch. Either that or I could have tried to play Jade, but there's no telling how well that would work." He smiled and his sister laughed bitterly again.

"Can we go to our rooms?" Luna asked, Kaylee noticed she ignored the two new rich kids and was looking at Josh, her expression pleading.

Josh smiled. "Yeah sure." He turned to the desk clerk, or concierge, and smiled brightly. "Hi there. I'd like to inform you that this is the Devon party checking in." He said and they all watched as the clerk paled considerably.

"Y-yes s-sir!" The guy stammered and pressed a button. "I've j-just summoned someone to t-take your bags t-to your r-rooms." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Have a nice stay." He managed to say without stuttering and waved as the five of them walked to the elevator.

* * *

Several hours later, it was about mid-day, the group was wandering around the large center where the Anime Convention was being held. Luna was staring around at all the stuff going on, and there were other people cosplaying Symphonia characters. She spotted a very good Lloyd cosplay and took a picture of the guy and his friends while they took pictures of her group. She didn't much like Felicia; in fact, she inwardly despised the bratty rich girl. But then, a moment later she spotted a table covered in plushies.

"Oh my GOD!" She exclaimed and ran over, sifting through the plushies. Kaylee was at her side, equally excited as they each pulled out plushies of Symphonia characters. Luna pulled out a Yuan plushie and blushed considerably as she stared at it. She looked at the man who was selling them. "Umm, how much for these?" She asked, hoping they wouldn't be too expensive.

"They're ten dollars each. My wife is a big fan of the game and makes these. I sell them with her permission, and with the permission of the game company. They even sell them online and order them from her. Trust me, they're more expensive if you order them online." The man said and Luna smiled brightly.

She reached into the pile and pulled out three more plushies, one of each of the four heroes. Martel, Mithos, and Kratos, to be added to the Yuan plushie she was already holding. Luna grabbed her wallet and pulled out one fifty dollar bill. She had a few other ones, courtesy of saving her small allowance and paycheck from work. "Here you go." She said as she handed it over. The man smiled and took the fifty and handed her back a ten dollar bill, along with a Colette plushie. Luna stared at the well made Colette plushie and frowned. "I can't buy more than these." She said.

"No, no. Think nothing of it. This one is on the house, and since you're cosplaying her, I thought you might like it." The man replied and Luna stared at him, wondering if it was a trick.

"Are you sure? I really can't afford it. I need the rest of my money for other stuff." She said but the man shoved the Colette plushie into the bundle in her arms.

"I insist, young lady. This one is all for you." He said and turned to look at Kaylee as she bought a Zelos plushie, a Sheena plushie, and a Yggdrasill plushie of all things. Luna hadn't seen one of those in there. She shook her head and smiled as Kaylee walked with her away from the plushie stand.

"So what did you get?" Kaylee asked, conversationally as they walked, looking for Josh and the others.

Luna smiled as she looked at her plushies. "I got Yuan, Kratos, Mithos, Martel, and the guy just gave me a Colette plushie." Luna replied as she pulled her bag from her back and opened the top. She shoved four of the plushies inside, but kept one out. Kaylee was smiling when she looked up and Luna looked down at the Yuan plushie, a blush spreading across her face. Even though it was just a game, Luna had a very big crush on Yuan, evident by the plushie she was holding close to her chest.

Kaylee frowned after a moment. "Wait, the guy just GAVE you a Colette plushie?" She asked and stared at her friend.

Luna nodded. "Yeah, he said it was on the house, and that since I was cosplaying her, I might like to have it." She felt her cheeks grow hot again.

"What is it with guys and you? Half the time someone tries to flirt with you in some way, or give you something free. Why doesn't that happen to anyone else I know?" Kaylee asked and Luna shrugged. "Normally your luck is really rotten, but when it comes to guys, and especially guys you aren't interested in, you have all the luck in the world. Why is that?"

"I have no idea." Luna replied shaking her head.

"Hey, Luna, Kaylee!" Josh's voice called out from almost halfway across the room. "Come over here and look at this. It's amazing!"

Luna glanced at Kaylee and the two smiled and ran over to the area. Kaylee pumped her fist in the air when she made it there first and Luna scowled at her friend for a brief moment. Then they both noticed what Josh had wanted them to see. There was a painting on the wall, depicting a very large tree, with four people and some kind of animal standing in front of it. It looked more like a picture than a painting.

"I see you've found my masterpiece." A man's voice said and the group of five turned to look at him. He was very tall, slender, for a guy, with long blonde hair tied back behind his head. His green-blue eyes looked at the five of them with interest. "Interested in Tales of Symphonia I see." He added a smile and gestured to the painting again. "So am I."

Luna then stared at the painting in awe. "That's…" When no one else spoke, but everyone was looking at her, she continued, "that's the Giant Kharlan Tree." She said and her friends all had a chorus of 'No way!' as they too went back to staring in awe of the painting. "Those four people are Kratos, Yuan, Mithos and Martel. And that's Noishe." Luna said and then looked at the man who was smiling brightly.

"Yes indeed. I painted this myself and I'm showcasing it here at the convention." He said as Luna looked at his hand. "I see you've noticed my Cruxis crystal." He said with a smile. "I assure you it's not real, but I wanted to show my love of the game in a different way than cosplaying."

Josh looked at him. "You would make a very good Yggdrasill, though." He said, smiling easily.

Luna's eyes widened and she backed away from the blonde man, her eyes darting to the picture. Suddenly, she had a very bad feeling. "Guys, I think we should go." She said loudly, and the others turned to look at her, but she was focused on the man, whose eyes darkened as soon as she was the only one staring at him.

"What are you talking about, Luna?" Josh asked.

She didn't get the chance to respond to them as she watched the man put his hand up to the painting. A dark, swirling vortex appeared there and she felt a pull. She was going to warn the others when the vortex swallowed three of them, leaving Luna standing there with only Felicia. Moments later, however, they too were pulled through the dark energy.

"Have fun." The man's voice said, but it was so far away, Luna barely even heard it. All she could focus on now was her unfathomable fear of dying in the void. Surrounded by nothing but darkness, of course she was afraid, but what else could she do?

She couldn't see any of her friends, and Felicia seemed to be gone now. Luna was alone, alone in the darkness as she felt another pull. This one was stronger than the first and the next thing she knew, her entire body felt as though she'd been run over by an eighteen wheeler truck. Luna couldn't stay awake any more and she lost consciousness.

* * *

**Okay folks that is the first chapter. I hope you like it, or liked it, or… whatever. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think. Things will get a little funnier on the way further into the story, and I promise a lot of things will get clearer later as well. As for the blonde man, I cannot yet reveal his identity, but I will say now that NO, he is not Mithos, but he is a villain who will seem very much like him. He's an OC character and his identity won't be revealed for a while. Sorry.**


	2. A Shift Occurs

**Hey boys and girls. This is the second Chapter in the World Tree Chronicles… why did I call it that just now? Because it's the coolest thing I can think of at the moment. Anyways, please read and review and let me know what you think. Honestly, I can use the motivation, but I'd like to bring this story to the end, and needless to say, this is going to pass through the Kharlan War journey and the World Regeneration… scary? Yes, you bet it is.**

**To let all of you know, none of the OC's from the first chapter are self insert; they are all random characters I made up. All of them may possess one or two traits that I share with them in order to better play their character, but that is all. I also do not have a ton of friends who are playing the other characters; I am the only person writing this. Needless to say I only own the OC's from this story and none of the cannon characters from the game. Now, read, enjoy, and review, preferably in that order.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – A Shift Occurs**

"Commander! Commander!" A voice shouted out in the large encampment.

Yuan frowned and sighed as he knew the soldier was looking for him at the moment. He paused in mid-step and turned around to face the human approaching. He was a half-elf in the Sylvarant army, and yet despite that, he had risen to a high rank. The Sylvaranti knew how to recognize talent, even if said talent was found in a half-elf. At least they weren't as bad as the Tethe'allans.

"What is it, soldier?" Yuan asked, looking the boy over with a cursory glance. The soldier in question was a young male with short black hair and pale blue eyes. His armor was a little too big for him and yet it didn't weigh him down as much as the others. He was broad shouldered with a decent face, though his lips were a bit big for him.

"Sir, at the... edge of camp... we found..." The boy was out of breath from running.

Yuan sighed and put his hand to his head in annoyance. "What did you find?" He asked impatiently.

"We found a girl, sir." The soldier said. "She's strange. She's wearing clothing made of a material we've never seen before. Sir, she has one of those... Cruxis crystal things."

Yuan looked up at that and stared at the soldier for a moment. It was like the human had suddenly grown three extra heads. After a moment he pushed the thought from his mind and nodded his head. "Show me." He said.

The boy nodded. "Right. Follow me, Commander." And the boy led him through the camp to the medical tent.

Yuan entered the tent behind the boy and noted the large crowd around one of the beds. As he approached he heard hushed whispers. 'So strange.' and 'Where did she come from?' were among many other questions. "DISPERSE!" Yuan said firmly and the soldiers all stepped aside and saluted him.

Laying on the small white bed was a young human girl, her long light brown hair was fanned out beneath her. Her skin was pale, but very fair and she had a cute face. She was unconscious, and looked like an angel in her sleep. Her clothing was unusual, it looked like something a Sylvaranti priestess might wear, but the fabric was wrong. He reached out and pinched the fabric between his fingers and felt it. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

The most unusual thing of course, was the red crystal on her chest. It looked like it could be a ruby, but the mana pulsing through it... Yuan frowned deeply as he looked at it. He'd heard about the experimental crystals to turn people into soulless fighters. For her to have one... he wasn't sure what that meant, but it didn't look good. The crystals had been found in Tethe'allan territory and the experiments were being done in Preita, a Tethe'allan city. If the girl had been part of the experiments, then she must have risked a lot to escape from Tethe'alla into Sylvarant.

Yuan looked at the doctor. "Her prognosis?" He asked calmly, though his mind was reeling with the implications of her appearance.

The doctor stepped closer to the bed and gave the girl a once over. "Apart from the fact that she is unconscious, she appears to be just fine. There aren't any internal or external injuries as far as I can tell. She should wake up shortly. I need to perform some mental tests on her." He said.

Yuan nodded. "You take care of that, doctor. If she's alright to move around, bring her to my tent. I'd like to have a few words with her myself." He said.

The older man nodded and bowed to him slightly. "Of course, Commander Ka-Fai." The doctor said and then shooed away the crowd. "No more slacking, get back to work all of you." He said, though he was smiling a bit.

Yuan looked at the girl one last time before he left the tent as well and made his way through the camp once more. He had been getting ready to take care of something, but now he was going to put those plans on hold for a little while.

* * *

She'd heard voices talking around her, but they were too faint to understand what they were saying. All the sounds were jumbled, like it was a different language she didn't understand. It was so dark, but... it was warm instead of cold. Was she dead? Is this what it felt like to die? She wondered. But as her thoughts began to form, she felt a throbbing pain in her head and knew. She couldn't be dead. When you were dead, you felt nothing anymore. If there was pain, that meant life. She was alive. But... where was she?

Luna tried to move, but pain shot through her body and she stopped trying. The pain in her head was the least intense, so she calmed her thoughts and focused on opening her eyes. After a few attempts to send the thought, her eyelids fluttered open, but her vision was blurry. She frowned and rubbed her eyes, blinking until her vision cleared. She was staring up at what looked like canvas. Was she in a tent?

"Ah, good. You are awake. I was beginning to worry I might be wrong." She heard a man speak.

Luna pinched her brows together and turned her head slightly to look for the source of the voice. What she found was a man in his mid to late thirties, with graying hair and kind green eyes. He was wearing light colored robes and seemed to be carrying a small medical kit. It wasn't like the kind she had at home, but it was definitely a medical kit. "Are you a doctor?" She couldn't help but ask him.

The man smiled wearily. "Yes, I am. Might I ask your name, child?" He replied.

"I'm not a child!" Luna protested hotly. The doctor frowned at her outburst and she took a deep breath. "Sorry, I don't like being called a child." She apologized. "And my name is Luna Almiras." She added shortly.

"Almiras... hmm, it's not a name I've heard of before." The doctor said thoughtfully. "But your first name, Luna. Were you named after the Summon Spirit?" He asked.

Luna's eyes widened when he asked that question. Summon Spirit? As in, the Summon Spirit of Light, Luna? She bit her lip and shook her head. "My mother just really liked the name." She answered honestly.

The doctor looked at her for a moment and then nodded, walking away. "Stay there, I'll be right back." He said.

_Sure, it's not like I can go anywhere in the meantime._ She thought bitterly. Her muscles ached too much to be normal, she couldn't even get up. And there was a strange pulsing energy in her chest that didn't feel right. She could feel her heartbeat, and then were was the strange pulsing overlapping and beating separately. _What is that?_ She wondered.

The doctor came back with a large fluffy pillow and a pad of paper. "Here." He helped her up, and she cringed in pain until he let her lay back against the pillow. "That's a little better. Now we can talk more." He said and took a seat in the chair by the bed.

Luna looked around a bit more and saw that there were other beds like the one she was on. This must be a medical tent, though why it was a tent was beyond her. But then, he had mentioned the Summon Spirit, Luna. Was it possible? Could she really be in the Symphonia world? But what time period was this? She didn't recognize this doctor, so he probably wasn't from the game timeline.

"Now, I just need to do some mental tests and check your vitals. So please bear with me." The doctor said kindly as he started doing a check-up.

Luna stayed as still as possible throughout most of it, and answered questions here and there when needed. He seemed like a really nice doctor, but she felt awkward. She'd only ever had a female doctor before back home, and it was weird to talk to a guy about her body and mind.

"Alright, looks like you are just fine. No concussion of any kind. Seems you have a clean bill of health there Miss Almiras." He said. "Now, there is just something I would like to ask you."

Luna nodded, though she was nervous what this question might be. "This bag was nearby when you were found. I take it this is yours." Luna nodded. "But this doll." He held up the Yuan plushie. "I kept this confidential from Commander Ka-Fai, but why do you have a doll that looks like him?" He asked.

Luna's eyes widened in surprise and she bit her lip as she looked away. "I've had it for a long time. I didn't know it looked like someone." She said.

The doctor was silent for a while and then sighed. She turned back to look at him, he looked very tired. "Alright, I will take you at your word. You might want to put this away though. Commander Ka-Fai has asked me to bring you to him when you are recovered." He said and handed the bag and plushie to her.

Luna took the plushie and unzipped her bag enough to stuff it inside. "Thank you." She said.

"Are you well enough to walk?" He asked.

Luna looked up at him and shook her head. "I can barely move without feeling pain. I don't think I can walk on my own yet." She said.

The doctor paused in thought, rubbing his chin dramatically. If he'd had a goatee it would look funny, like a villain plotting something. Luna bit her lip to avoid laughing aloud at the image. "I've got some apple gels. I can give you one to help ease the pain so you can walk. You might need a little help, but it should work." He said.

"Aren't they expensive?" She asked, pulling at straws. She didn't know much about the world at this time period. But she figured that this early in the world the gels might be more expensive and harder to make.

The doctor nodded solemnly. "They are indeed, but the Commander wanted to see you." He siad. "I know a little bit about healing magic and treating wounds without gels. It won't be so bad to use one more." He said and began rummaging through the medical kit. He pulled out a small red gel wrapped in clear plastic. He handed her the wrapped gel. "Take it, you should feel much better after you've had it." He told her.

Luna sighed and unwrapped the gel before popping it into her mouth. It melted on her tongue and it was very sweet. It also had a very strong apple flavor, almost like apple cider. She swallowed and when she did there was a sudden warmth spreading through her body and the throbbing pain in her head and limbs dulled down to a slight ache. "Wow that's strong." She said in surprise.

The doctor smiled. "Of course it is. They work really well. Are you feeling better now?" He asked.

Luna smiled and nodded as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Yeah, I feel like I could do back-flips." She said enthusiastically. Although she knew for a fact that she could NEVER do a back-flip. Not even a single one.

The doctor laughed. "Alright, grab your things and follow me. I'll take you to the Commander's tent." He said with a smile.

* * *

Yuan was busy with more annoying paperwork when he saw shadows moving outside the tent. He looked up and watched them a bit, his eyes narrowed. He recognized the doctor's mana signature, and the unusual mana from the Cruxis crystal. With a sigh, though he was relieved to have something else to do, he pushed the papers aside on his desk.

"Commander, I brought the girl as you requested." The doctor called through the canvas of the tent.

"Come in." Yuan replied and waited until they were both in the room. The girl looked younger than he'd thought. At first glance while she was sleeping he'd thought her to be eighteen, but now upon closer inspection she appeared no older than sixteen. For a human, she was still a child, though most human women married younger than this. Her eyes were big on her face, but not enough to make her look awkward, rather, they made her unique. They were light blue. "It's good to see you awake." Yuan said to her.

The girl nodded politely, looking extremely nervous. "Thank you." She said softly. Even her voice was young. Not high pitched like a child, but still young.

Yuan folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "What is your name?" He asked.

She bit her lip and didn't look at him, he noticed. "Luna Almiras, if you please." She said, performing a little curtsy. For a human she was oddly polite, especially if she was Sylvaranti. Only Tethe'allan nobles were raised with those kinds of manners.

That posed more questions. Was she Tethe'allan instead? And if so, why would they experiment on their own people? It was something he didn't want to look into at the moment. "It's nice to meet you Luna. I am Yuan Ka-Fai, Commander of the First Division of the Sylvarant Army." He said to her. "There are some things I'd like to talk to you about. Doctor, you may get back to your work."

The doctor nodded and left the tent, leaving the girl with him. She looked at the tent flap for a while before turning her attention back to him. "I don't know how much help I'll be, but... okay." She said.

Yuan smiled inwardly at her response. At least she was willing to cooperate. Whether she was Sylvaranti or Tethe'allan she seemed like a sweet, innocent girl. He was above causing undue harm to those who didn't deserve it. This was going to be one easy interrogation, though not one he was likely to appreciate. He still had other things to take care of, like organizing and preparing to launch another attack on Tethe'allan territory.

* * *

"Well, this is interesting." A man's voice said harshly. Felicia could only just hear it, and her body ached all over as she tried to move. She failed. "Hmm. It seems the subject is waking up." The man's voice spoke again and Felicia opened her eyes.

Everything was groggy and she couldn't see through the haze yet. There was a big shape at the edge of her vision, and she could only guess that it was the head of the man speaking. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" She asked, anger dripping from her voice like acid.

The man laughed as her vision cleared. He was older, in his mid thirties, with medium length brown hair and fierce red eyes that made her shiver. His skin was abnormally pale and she noticed his ears were pointed, though only slightly if compared to her own round ears. Felicia couldn't help but remember that she was dressed like Celsius and wondered if that had any reason for why she was here.

"Now, why would a human be dressed like the Summon Spirit of Ice?" The man asked her as he looked her body over.

Felicia stumbled through her thoughts, trying to come up with a decent response. Nothing was coming to her. "Umm." The man was staring at her and those red eyes were really starting to freak her out.

"Out of the way, Loris!" A cold voice interrupted, though this was the voice of a woman. Felicia shifted her head to get a look at the newcomer. The woman had long blonde hair that trailed behind her on the floor. Quite a lot of it was up in a very fancy up-do hair style, she had to be a noble of some kind. Her deep blue eyes were cold and cruel, and her face seemed to be painted, as the white of her face did not match the peach tone of the rest of her skin.

"Ah, Lady Morcana." The elven man Loris said as he bowed deeply to her. She waved her hand in dismissal and he smiled at Felicia and left the room.

"What is your name, girl?" Morcana said, glaring down at Felicia.

There was no way she was going to give her a real name. "My name is Aurora." Felicia said darkly as she once again struggled to move. It was then she felt the bonds holding her hands and feet to the table like thing she was laying on. "What do you people want with me?"

Morcana laughed shrilly. "Yes, like I would give you all the details of our organization. All you need to know is that you are the new experiment." She said with a cruel smirk. "I do hope you survive, all the others die on us. Be strong and live through it, won't you?" She said and then laughed manically as she left the room.

Loris came back in and shook his head. "That woman." It was all he said before he picked up a bag from the ground. "I think this belonged to you." He said and started searching through it. He pulled out the Sync costume and stared at it. "This might suit you better after you live through the experiment. So, Aurora, are you ready to face death?" He smirked as he turned to a cabinet of some kind.

When he came back, he laid six crystals along the edge of the table and looked over her body again. "This will hurt a lot, but at least you will grow stronger." He said as he held the first crystal over her chest. "Yes, this one must go here." He said triumphantly and placed the cold crystal over her heart.

Something warm and painful seared through her body and Felicia could barely stifle the scream that rose through her chest. The man smiled and placed a second crystal on the back of her right hand, causing another sharp pain searing up her arm, a pain that connected with the pain in her chest and torso. It was too much to take, but she couldn't find any way to block out the pain. A third crystal was placed on the back of her left hand and again pain shot through her limbs to connect to the main source.

"Three more times and the pain will recede. You will see." Loris' voice spoke, but Felicia barely heard it through the rushing in her ears. A cold object touched the top of her left foot and pain shot up her left leg to connect to her chest. Barely even a minute later, pain shot through her right leg as the fifth crystal was placed on her right foot. Her screaming reached a peak as Loris walked around the table to her head. "The last one. So far you have survived, let's see if this won't kill you." He said with the same cruel smirk as he placed a cold crystal on her forehead.

Her screams died in her throat and Felicia stared blankly at the ceiling before darkness spread over her vision again. She could faintly hear cold laughter, but couldn't place the voice anymore. The darkness was so cold and comforting, a welcome relief to the searing pain still throbbing in her body. She couldn't form any coherent thoughts, so she let the darkness take her, hoping that she could still wake up again later.

* * *

**I suppose I'm going to end this chapter here. Hope you all like the cliff hanger... haha... No, I'm kidding. But I do hope you liked the chapter. o3o**

**Anyway, until next time.**


	3. Meltokio

**Okay, so this is the third chapter in the Lyronia chronicle story. I'm sure you noticed in the previous chapter that Yuan was alone and was a Commander of the Sylvarant army. Yeah, that's right, you guessed it, this story takes place during the Kharlan War. I know I've got three other stories in the works. I honestly don't know why I keep making these, for one game. What can I say? I just love Tales of Symphonia.**

**Anyway, I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters from it. I only own the OC's that I bring into the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Meltokio**

"...lee... ake... Kaylee... up! ... Kay... ake..." She could hear the voice at the edge of her consciousness, but it was annoying and all she wanted to do was continue sleeping. Most likely her older brother was trying to wake her up and get her out of bed for the day. She wondered where the time had gone since the convention, but she wanted to stay in bed.

"KAYLEE!" The voice broke through her thoughts and she realized it sounded like Morgan.

Kaylee's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly without a second thought. She bumped her head into Morgan's and fell back groaning. "Oww! Morgan, what the hell?!" She asked, clutching her head.

Morgan shook his head and looked at her. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I didn't think you were going to sit up so fast." He said. He had a hand on his head as well.

Kaylee opened her eyes and looked at him again and sat up slowly this time. "Nah, it's my fault. I totally should have sat up slowly." She replied. She took a moment to look around the surrounding area. They were surrounded by trees and a slightly worn dirt path led out of the trees towards what looked like a grand city. It was built in tiers, with a castle at the top.

"Wow." She said and stood up, brushing the dirt from her clothes. It was at that moment that she realized she was still dressed as Sheena. "Damn, I forgot about that. Morgan." She turned to him and looked at him, he was still dressed as Kratos. "I think... and this may sound totally crazy, but... I think we're in the game world." She said.

Morgan sighed and stood up as well. "Yeah, I know. I already had to fight off a couple of monsters. It was pretty interesting." He said with a smile. "That looks like Meltokio over there. I can't just go walking in dressed like this. What if Kratos is there and sees me?"

Kaylee smiled and nodded. "Right. Do you have your other cosplay on you?" She asked.

Morgan nodded. "Yeah, I kept it with me, same as Luna kept hers in her bag." He said.

Kaylee frowned. "How did you know that? I didn't even know she had her Tear cosplay in her backpack." She said.

"I caught a glimpse of it when she bought the plushies from that stand. She shoved four of them inside and I saw the costume in there." He said and pulled out a small bag that looked really stuffed. "Mind turning around and watching for monsters? I think I scared most of them off, but I don't want to take any chances." He told her.

Kaylee sighed and nodded. "Right. Let me know when you're done." She said and turned away from him. She looked around for monsters, but found herself distracted by the sounds coming from behind her. She could hear Morgan changing, undoing the belts on the Kratos costume and... she blushed a little and tried to focus her thoughts. Monsters. She needed to keep an eye out for them.

Morgan wasn't nearly as stuck up or annoying as his sister, Felicia. That, and he was incredibly handsome to boot. Kaylee didn't want to let that influence her thoughts, but he also seemed to be a nice guy. She didn't care about the fact that he was a rich kid who went to private school. None of that stuff mattered to her at all, but she couldn't get caught up in a relationship when things were so weird right now.

She wondered where Josh had landed, or Felicia and Luna. But she was mostly concerned about Luna, her best friend who wasn't big on wilderness survival skills. She hoped she was alright, and safe somewhere. A moment later she heard Morgan pulling a zipper and she wondered if it was a shirt or pants. She felt her face flush with heat and knew she was blushing again.

"Alright. You can turn around now." Morgan said.

Kaylee turned her head reluctantly and saw that he was mostly dressed, pulling on the silver-grey tunic over the long-sleeved black shirt. He pulled on the last pieces of the outfit, including the mantle with the symbol of Daath on it. Morgan buckled on the Maestro sword underneath and smiled as he pulled off the short deep auburn colored wig. His own hair fell down his back, dyed bright red though the tips were darker to match Asch's natural hair color.

"You go all out to cosplay, don't you?" She asked him, impressed. He looked a lot like Asch except for the red-brown eyes. Of course, he then reached up and took out the colored lenses in his eyes and put them away in a holding case.

"Yeah, I do." Morgan replied honestly and looked at her. His eyes were naturally green, though not the same shade as Asch or Luke. They were pale green instead, but still green. "Alright, I just need to put this away and we can get moving. I don't want to stay here too long." He said.

Kaylee sighed. "I can't avoid a confrontation if we run into Sheena. I didn't think to bring my Natalia cosplay with me. I was just going to wear that tomorrow at the Con." She told him. "Oh well. We can hope that they aren't there when we reach the city." She said.

Morgan looked beyond her through the trees. "I don't think we need to worry about Sheena."

"What? Why not?" She asked and looked at the city. A moment later she realized what he meant. Meltokio, if the city was the one she was thinking of, was NOT surrounded by a wall. "It's... there isn't a wall around the city." She was awed by this fact. When would the city be unprotected like this?

"That's not quite right, they're building a wall. If you squint you can see the base of it, but it's not the height it should be for the game. We must be in a different time period for this world." He said. "Either way, I don't want to risk a run in with Kratos while dressed like him. That will raise too many questions for a LOT of people."

Kaylee nodded knowing where he was going with the line of thinking. Kratos had been around for a little over four thousand years. It would stand to reason that he might be around during this time. "Well, that's good, I guess. You all set?" She asked and looked at him.

He finished stuffing the costume into his bag and nodded. "Yeah." He pulled the strings tight and tossed it over his shoulder. "Let's move. But be careful, there are probably still monsters around here." He said.

Kaylee ran her tongue over her teeth in a nervous habit and nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep my eyes open." She said. She was glad she had taken self-defense classes, mostly martial arts classes, in case of an event like this. She wasn't sure how effective it would be to fight monsters with her hands and feet, but she would have to see.

As they walked along the path, Kaylee let her thoughts drift back to what had happened at the Con. That weird guy with the blonde hair, she couldn't help but wonder who he was. There was little doubt in her mind that he was the one who'd sent them here, but why? There was no answer to the question, at least not now.

There was a loud scream in the distance that pulled her out of her thoughts. Morgan paused in his tracks the same way she did. "What was that?" He asked.

Kaylee frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but it sounds like someone is in trouble." She answered.

Morgan looked at her. "Let's check it out." He said and started running in the direction of the scream. Kaylee sighed in frustration and followed him.

When they got closer she heard monsters growling, or snarling. It was hard to say which was which at this point, it sounded like there were a lot of them. She could see the monsters crowding around someone or something. "Morgan!" She called to him.

He nodded and drew his sword, running into the fray with the monsters, hacking and slashing as he went. Kaylee smiled and hoped her martial arts training was about to pay off. She sped up and flipped over the monsters to land in the middle. She landed on her feet near a boy as tall as herself, though he looked younger than her by three years at least.

"Wha- Who are you?!" She heard the boy ask, but she charged forward and kicked the nearest monster. It yelped and ran back into the crowd of beasts.

"There'll be time for introductions later." She said simply and flipped away from another monster just in time to avoid getting her chest torn open. She looked for Morgan and noticed a red glyph appear beneath his feet. He was casting. Now there was something new. She smiled and rushed toward the nearest monster, focusing her thoughts to channel energy into her legs. "Triple Kick!" She called out and felt... something... leave her body to power her attack.

The monster she was attacking yelped and then burst into... particles? No, that had to be mana. It was dense enough to see as the monster's body faded into nothing, but it dispersed into the air until she couldn't see it anymore. "That's cool." She said shortly and screamed as something sharp raked across her arm. "Damn, gotta pay attention." She said and kicked away the monster that attacked her.

"Eruption!" Morgan shouted and the glyph disappeared. A semi-circle of super heated magma and rock burst from the ground. It hit three monsters at once and killed them as well.

Kaylee was about to run back in to fight when she felt a gentle touch on her arm. She turned to look and saw a young woman with long light green hair and green eyes looking at her arm intensely. Her outfit was a dead giveaway as well, this was Martel Yggdrasill, which meant the teenage boy was... Mithos. She looked and saw him trying to fight the monsters. He cast a fire-ball spell and jumped away from the monsters attacking him. "Hold still for a moment." Martel said in a calm, melodic voice.

A white glyph appeared and she concentrated. "First Aid." She said and the magic flowed from her into Kaylee's arm. She felt the skin mend and the pain faded to a light ache.

"That's useful. Thanks." Kaylee said and smiled at Martel before she tensed. She could tell there was a monster behind her. "You might want to back away." She said to her, and Martel nodded, moving away from her. She bent her knees and jumped at the last second, flipping over the monster as it charged her from behind. She focused the energy in herself and smiled. "This is it. Reversal Strike!" She called out and flipped in mid-air and came crashing down on the monster, feet first. It fell to the ground and died in a burst of mana.

"Lightning Blade!" Morgan called out from the side as he ran a monster through with his blade and lightning came down and struck the beast. It died and there was one monster left, but Mithos took care of it.

Kaylee smiled and fell back on her butt, panting. Fighting off these monsters wasn't easy work and she was tired. "That... was... awesome." She said through pants.

Martel and Mithos looked at her oddly for a moment and then glanced at Morgan, who was putting his sword away. Mithos walked over and towered over her since she was sitting on the ground. "Now, who are you?" He asked, angrily, putting his hands on his hips.

Kaylee looked up at him and smiled. "I'm Kaylee Silva." She said. His pose reminded her of Peter Pan and she couldn't help but smile more at that thought.

Morgan walked over and looked at Mithos before looking at Kaylee on the ground. He sighed and looked at the two half-elves. "I'm Morgan Valentine." He said.

Mithos looked at him and then at Kaylee. "You're... human, but you're travelling with a half-elf." He said, looking surprised.

"What?" Kaylee asked, feeling as surprised as he looked. She glanced at Morgan and noticed his ears were slightly pointed. Not by much, but still enough to be noticeable. "Huh, I never knew that." She said and stood up. "Why didn't you tell me, Morgan?" She asked, trying to play along a bit.

Morgan looked at her and then away. "I wasn't sure how you would react to my race." He answered, sounding completely honest. Obviously, he was as good at acting, or at least playing along, as she was. She couldn't even tell he was lying.

Kaylee shrugged. "Well, I know now. And I don't care what race you are, you've been an awesome traveling companion." She smiled and pat him on the back.

Mithos and Martel were watching them and exchanged a look before Martel smiled brightly and stepped forward. "I knew it was possible for humans to get along with half-elves. I've just never had proof before." She said, excitedly.

Mithos frowned. "Martel, we have something we need to do, remember?" He said.

Martel jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and turned towards him. "Right, of course. I almost forgot." She turned to them and smiled. "We must be going, sorry. I hope we can meet again." She said.

Kaylee looked towards the city and smiled. "Are you heading for the city?" She asked.

Mithos didn't look too happy, although he also didn't look too upset either. "What good would it do you to know?" He asked instead.

"Morgan and I are headed that way. We can go with you, if you don't mind having me along." Kaylee answered.

Martel spun around, a glint in her eyes. "Really?! You would come with us? That's... amazing!" She exclaimed. She looked like she was getting ready to jump for joy.

Mithos grumbled slightly and crossed his arms. "If you're headed that way, I guess you can come along." He said.

Kaylee nodded to him. "Alright, let's get going then." She said. "Oh, and I think I should at least know your names, since you know mine."

"I'm Martel Yggdrasill, and this is my younger brother, Mithos." Martel spoke up before Mithos could comment.

"It's nice to meet you, Martel and Mithos. So, to the city then?" Kaylee asked and started walking that way.

* * *

"I am leaving the protection of the city to you, Kratos. Make sure you don't fail." His father said rather coldly before turning and leaving. His army entourage left with him and Kratos waited until the last of them were out of sight before letting himself sigh with relief.

His father had never been very warm or loving, but he had always cared for him in his own way. Despite how cold and distant the man was, Kratos had always admired his father. The whole reason why he'd learned swordplay and joined the Tethe'allan army, and later the Knights, was because of his father. To please him, and make him proud of his only son. Even then, the man rarely showed how proud he was, except when talking to those of lower class, and that wasn't always... polite.

Kratos turned away from the gate and walked to the manor. It was the closest one to the castle, and the only people left inside were his mother and the maids. He walked inside and looked over at his mother, she was dabbing a facecloth under her eyes to catch her tears. He knew his mother felt that his father was going off to his death. She felt that way every time he went off to the battlefield. Kratos walked over to his mother and she glanced at him, her eyes glistening with tears. She hugged him around the waist.

Kratos sighed and rubbed her shoulder to comfort her and then pulled away. He didn't have much time to deal with his mother's hysterics, but she seemed calmer and smiled at him slightly. "Kratos, honey, if you get the chance, please remember to go to the castle and see Princess Hildegard. She's been asking for you." His mother said, dabbing at her eyes again. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I will see if I have the time." He said simply before leaving the room. Honestly, he didn't really want to go see the Princess. He knew that his parents had arranged for him to marry her, but he wasn't interested. He didn't want the kind of awkward relationship that his parent's had, knowing they had been arranged to marry one another from a young age. Besides, as a Knight, he didn't have much time, and in ordinary circumstances it would be looked down on for him to marry the Princess. But the King was fond of him and his family, and had agreed to it even after Kratos had joined the Knights.

He checked the house for signs of danger, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. When he was certain that his mother would be safe in his absence he left the house and began his trek through the city. As a Knight he had to patrol the streets to keep the residents safe from monsters and thieves. The bigger part of the problem was the monsters, but that's why the wall was being built to help keep them out.

There had been rumors for the past week about a possible invasion from the Sylvarant army, but most people doubted they were that close. Meltokio was in the center of Tethe'allan territory, and unless the Sylvaranti found a way to sneak across the border, they couldn't be close to the city. The people here were safe from that kind of danger, at least for a while yet.

Everything was quiet in the noble's quarter, so he headed to the marketplace which was on the lower level. He glanced back behind him at the castle and shook his head before continuing on. As he approached the main square before the marketplace he heard a commotion and looked around. There was a crowd of people by the fountain, all arguing. He heard a few snatches of 'Filthy Half-Elves!' and walked over, hoping to diffuse the tension.

"Please, there has to be someone who will listen!" He heard a young woman say.

"Can't you get someone from the knighthood? We have to tell them something! It's important!" A boy said urgently.

"Get out of here you filthy half-elves! And YOU! You're not helping any!" An older woman said shaking her fist at whoever was in the middle of the crowd.

"I'M not helping?" A girl's voice said incredulously. "You people are the ones who aren't helping! How can you be so cruel? We're trying to help you!"

"She's with the half-elves. She's a traitor to her own kind, nobody listen to her!" Another voice from the crowd said.

"This is hopeless." He heard a male voice say angrily. "None of these people are going to listen to us."

"Please!" He heard the first young woman say again. The crowd only seemed to get more riled up at the sound of her pleading voice.

Kratos frowned, it seemed like these people were in a lot of trouble. No one else was willing to listen to them. "OUT OF THE WAY!" He said with as much volume and authority as he could manage, which, given that he was a Knight, was a lot. The crowd separated enough to form a path and he walked forward to see who was at the middle of this mess.

He saw a group of four, two girls and two guys. The girl with black hair tied behind her head was wearing an unusual outfit he'd never seen before. She looked like one of the ninja people from Mizuho. He'd never met anyone from there before, but had heard plenty of stories about the hidden village. The older guy was still young, in his teenage years and had long crimson hair and green eyes, wearing an even stranger outfit. He looked like a Knight, but not one from Meltokio, that was for sure.

As for the other two, they were clearly related, the girl had long light green hair and wore a long-sleeved green dress to match. She held a white staff in her hands and carried herself well. She looked older than the other girl, perhaps in her early twenties, and the boy... he had to be about fourteen years old. His blond hair was shoulder length and his bangs swept to one side. They were definitely half-elves, but they didn't seem bothered by the people around them.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Kratos asked someone from the crowd.

"Oh, Sir Aurion. These people came in out of nowhere demanding to talk with someone from the Knighthood. They said it was very important and they brought news of a threat to the city. We didn't believe them." A young woman said, twirling a strand of her long dark hair around her finger. She was batting her eyes at him a little, but he ignored that.

Kratos looked from her to the strangers and nodded. "They should have been brought to me immediately." He said before turning to the group. "I apologize for the way you've been treated. If you will please follow me, I will discuss the issue with you in private." He began walking away from the area, ignoring the heated looks and annoyed whispers from the crowd. The people weren't happy with the way he was treating the strangers. It was understandable, the people here didn't trust half-elves. He couldn't say he was entirely happy about the situation, but he also didn't see the need to treat these people with such hostility.

"Man, am I glad you came along." He heard the younger girl say. From what he had gleaned, she was the only human traveling with the group.

He led them up into the noble's quarters and took a left to go to the Knights' barracks. He had a private office here where he could talk to them without anyone eavesdropping on their conversation. When they were all in his office, he closed the door and walked to the other side of the desk and sat down to face them.

"Now, tell me your names and what is so urgent?" He asked, looking at them all.

The boy sat forward, glaring at him a little. Kratos couldn't blame him, humans generally weren't very receptive of half-elves, but he intended to try and take them at their word. Then the green-haired woman smiled politely at him and shifted in her seat.

"I am Martel, and this is my brother Mithos. And these two are Kaylee and Morgan." She said kindly. "Anyway, we came here with a warning for the Tethe'allan militia. A few days ago my brother and I uncovered a secret plot by the Sylvarant army to attack this city."

Kratos frowned at her and sighed. "I'm afraid that's not possible. This city is well protected. Besides, for the Sylvaranti to get here, they would need to cross the border, thereby passing military towns who would send us a message of their advance." He said.

"But it's true!" Mithos, the young blond boy exclaimed in sudden fury, standing from his seat.

Kratos simply looked at him calmly until he calmed down and settled back into the chair, looking annoyed. Martel continued. "My brother, while a bit on the temperamental side..." The boy glared at her for a moment, but it wasn't a particularly mean look. "Is right. The Sylvaranti discovered a pass through the Hima mountains that bypasses Tethe'allan cities and allows for a secret route. If we don't do something, they will be here within a fortnight and the city will fall. That's why my brother and I came here, to warn the people." She said.

Kratos folded his hands together in thought as he looked them over. "I wouldn't put it past the Sylvaranti to pull something like this." He said slowly and watched the looks on their faces change. Mithos looked surprised, Martel awed, and the other two looked happy. "I can try to gain an audience with his majesty the King to see if we can't warn the city and evacuate, but I can't make any promises." He told them.

Martel nodded. "Of course. I'm just happy someone was willing to listen to us." She said.

"Yes. Well, rest assured that not everyone in this city is the same." He paused and looked at them. "Do you have a place to stay?" He asked.

The four exchanged looks. Kaylee shook her head. "No, we asked around at all the Inns, but they denied us rooms. Even when I went in alone to make the reservations. As soon as my companions walked in, they cast us out." She said.

"That poses a problem, but one that can be easily solved." Kratos said. "There is plenty of room at Aurion Manor. I'll speak to the maids there and find a place for you. Until I get back, try not to leave or cause trouble. I'll only be gone for a few minutes." He got up and walked out of the room.

It took him less than two minutes to walk back to his house and his mother was sitting on the lounge chair in the lobby. She looked distressed still, but she was reading a book and looked up as he entered. "Kratos, have you seen Hildegard today?" She asked.

"Not yet, mother." He said stiffly. "Actually, I have a favor to ask of you."

She smiled. "Anything, honey. What do you want?"

"I met a group of people who are concerned with the welfare of the city. They claim the Sylvarant Army will be coming here to attack..."

"You know that's not possible, dear. I hope you turned them away." She said, returning to her book.

"Actually, I decided to try taking them at their word. They were honest and knew what they were talking about." He said and noticed the look his mother gave him but continued on. "They need a place to stay and I offered to let them stay here."

"Kratos!" She exclaimed in horror.

"I don't have time for arguments, mother. I need to speak with His Majesty and see if he will talk to these people. In the meantime, I wanted to ask if you could stay with your friend." He said.

"Why would I need to stay with my friend instead of in my own house?" She asked, but her eyes were wide with horror as realization dawned on her. "They aren't... HALF-ELVES... are they?" When he didn't reply she jumped off the lounge chair. "They are... you're bringing those filthy beasts into my Home!" She cried out.

Kratos frowned but took a deep breath and sighed. "They aren't filthy, mother. They are generally decent people and honest. Unlike many of the nobles of this city." He said, testily. She laughed, but then stared at him in shocked horror as she realized he was being serious. "I know how much you dislike them, that's the only reason I am asking."

Her lip trembled slightly as she stared at him. "Alright, honey. If it means that much to you to help these people... I'll go stay with my friend. She gets lonely these days without her husband. Give me a few minutes, and I'll be out of the house."

A few minutes later his mother paused by the door and turned to look at him, sadness in her eyes. "Kratos, dear. Please try to think about the marriage. You are twenty-eight years old, you shouldn't be alone. You should have been married by now." She said. "Your father and I only arranged the marriage because we thought it could make you happy. That's all." She turned and walked out the door.

He watched as she took a carriage down the drive and out to the other manors. When he was sure she was gone he talked to the maids and told them not to be hostile to the guests he'd be bringing. After he was sure they would be nice, he left to go get the group from his office. Even now he could tell this was going to be a long day, and possibly an even longer week.

* * *

**End of Chapter...haha. No really, I'm not joking. So there is Kratos, Mithos and Martel... and two of the other OC's. Josh will show up later, I promise. Also, talk about guilt trip. Kratos' mom isn't exactly subtle about things.**


	4. Sylvarant Army March

**Woohoo, chapter three is up and running and now to work on the next chapter. I hope you all like the story so far as it's coming out. Anyway, I digress.**

**I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters therein. That right belongs to Namco-Bandai. I do, however, own the OC's I bring into the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Sylvarant Army March**

She could hardly believe that she was here at the moment, but it was hard to deny what she saw and felt. Luna looked behind her to see the soldiers marching. They had begun packing up the campsite while she spoke to Yuan. Apparently, they were marching up into the Hima mountains and down into Tethe'allan territory. She worried about what that meant, but decided not to ask about it. It was bad enough that Yuan didn't seem to like her much.

Well, what could she possibly tell him about herself? Not that she was from another world, certainly. She couldn't even claim to be from Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, though he'd mentioned that her clothing looked purely Sylvaranti. But then he'd talked about the Cruxis crystal and how they were currently only being researched in Tethe'alla. So she was an oddity to him and everyone in the army. And even Yuan had wondered why she was named after the summon spirit.

Yuan was walking along beside her, his weapon strapped to his back at the moment. He was focused on the road ahead, but she was certain that if she tried to get away, he would turn and grab her. So she didn't bother to entertain thoughts of running away. Even if she managed to avoid being grabbed by him at first, he would still chase her down, and she wasn't very confident in her speed. That, and she wasn't good at surviving outdoors, and protecting herself was going to be particularly hard against the monsters.

Already they had fought small groups of monsters. They came and went a lot around the area, and she didn't want to be caught alone or unawares with them. She bit her lip and looked at the mountains looming ahead. The climb was going to be dreadfully steep and annoying. Luna was determined to get through it no matter what. The doctor, whose name was Lucian Grey, was also travelling with the company. He might not be able to use magic, but his medical training was still useful.

There wasn't much to do, so Luna thought back to her conversation with Yuan earlier that day.

_She had stood there staring at him, uncertain what to do until he offered her a seat. She had sat down on the small wooden chair and looked at the ground, nervous well beyond belief. It was awkward having a crush on a fictional character, but to meet him for real... that made things worse._

_"Where are you from, Luna?" Yuan asked her._

_She paused and tried to think of a convincing lie. "I'm not from around here." She said. It was true enough._

_"Are you from Tethe'alla?" He asked._

_"No."_

_"So you're from Sylvarant." It was a statement._

_"No."_

_Yuan looked up and stared at her like she had multiple heads. "You're not from Tethe'alla, nor are you from Sylvarant. Where do you come from?"_

_Luna bit her lip. "I can't say."_

_He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. She could tell he was frustrated by her answers. "You have to be from somewhere. You're named after the summon spirit of light, after all. I won't ask any more questions about your home then." He said._

Again with the summon spirit thing?_ She thought._

_After that he asked about the crystal on her chest. Luna hadn't paid too much attention to it in a while, but was drawn back to it. "How did I get this?" She repeated the question._

_"Yes, I'd like to know. As far as I've heard the only lab using these crystals in their experiments is located in Tethe'alla. So how did you get yours? Did you escape from their facility?" He asked._

_Luna shook her head. "No, I... I've had this for a long time, no one gave it to me." She said, hoping the answer would be good enough. Judging by his reaction, it wasn't._

_"I see." Was all he said. He looked more annoyed than before._

_They sat there talking for a while until it was time to finish breaking camp and get moving._

"You seem to be deep in thought." Yuan said in observation.

Luna jumped a little as she returned to awareness. She had been walking lost in thought and noticed he was holding her arm to keep her on track. She blushed slightly and shrugged out of his grasp. "Sorry, I get lost in my head sometimes." She replied.

"So I've noticed." He said simply and kept walking.

Luna had to walk fast in order to keep pace with him, he was taller and his legs were longer than hers. "Umm, how long have you been with the army?" She asked.

"Five years." He said without looking at her. "I've been a Commander for two."

"Wow. That's not very long." She was awed, not only by how short a time he'd served so far, but by how soon he'd become a Commander.

"The General recruited me from my home in Sargad, and later recognized my talent for leadership. He gave me the promotion despite my race. My soldiers might dislike me because of my race, but I've never given them cause to distrust me or change allegiance." He told her.

"They seem to respect you." She said, looking back at the men behind them. Most were following faithfully, quietly, while others were talking and some shot looks at their backs. Luna frowned and looked ahead of her instead.

Yuan laughed a little. "They only respect me because of my rank, not because of my race. A few of them are afraid of me because I can use magic, but they aren't openly hostile unless I act the same way to them." He said. "But needless to say it wasn't like that when I joined the army. I had no authority then."

Luna nodded absently. "People can be total jerks." She said.

Yuan looked at her. "You're too young to understand that concept."

Luna looked up at him, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Oh yeah? Then why was I outcast when I was a kid? Certainly not just because I was new in town." She bit her lip. "I was different from the other kids, and they hated me for that... for no reason. I didn't understand why until later."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He apologized and she looked at him in surprise. "I'm used to humans discriminating against half-elves, I forget that it happens the other way around as well."

Luna shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. The kids that hated me, they were human as well. But I was still different."

Yuan didn't seem to know what to say to that, so they walked in silence for a while. A few minutes later the mountain path came into view. "We'll be climbing for a while." He said shortly.

"Yeah, I know." She said.

"You don't have to come, there is a village at the top of the path. You can stop there and go off on your own." He told her.

Luna frowned and shook her head. "I can't. There's no way I could go off on my own. I'm not much of a fighter, but I also have poor survival skills. I'd die on my own."

"You can't stay with the army, either." Yuan said.

Luna looked at him, feeling heat rush to her cheeks in anger. "You wanna bet? Try and stop me from following you." She argued. "Besides, I may not have a proper education for it, but I know a bit about treating wounds and medical stuff. I can help Doctor Grey." She said, feeling determined.

Yuan looked at her, frowning and then sighed when it was clear he realized she wouldn't change her mind. "Fine, do what you want. But if you get killed, it's not my responsibility." He said.

She smiled and nodded. "Right."

* * *

_This girl is very unusual, for a human._ Yuan thought as they began climbing the mountain path. Up until Hima the path wasn't very steep, but it would get worse when they passed the village. Either way, he couldn't help but stare at the girl as she walked. Something about her spoke of danger, even though her personality was innocent and naïve. He couldn't shake the feeling that she could be dangerous.

As they drew close to the mountain village, Yuan heard someone calling out to them from ahead. He looked up and saw a young man with short blond hair waving. Luna straightened up a bit, a smile on her face. "Josh!" She cried out and ran ahead. Yuan watched the boy with suspicion and when he got closer could sense the mana in the boy. He was an elf, which was strange because the elves rarely left their forest city these days.

"Luna, man am I glad to see you." The boy, Josh said with a smile, hugging the girl. The boy looked up and spotted him and then turned to Luna. "You're not in trouble, are you?" He asked.

Luna shook her head. "No. They found me passed out by their campsite." She told the boy. "They helped me."

Josh sighed and nodded and stepped around Luna to stand protectively in front of her anyway. He stared at Yuan, and Yuan glared back at him, wondering what his problem was. After a tense moment, the boy smiled. "I'd like to thank you for helping my friend." He said.

Yuan raised a brow, waiting for the boy to continue. When nothing else was forthcoming, he sighed and nodded. "There wasn't much else to do." He said and looked at the boy's clothing. He was dressed in a strange pink outfit that looked Tethe'allan. Rather, they made him look like a Tethe'allan noble, but he was an elf. His pointed ears were a clear sign of that.

"Josh... your ears." Luna said quietly, her eyes wide with shock.

Josh paused and lifted a hand to feel his ear and frowned. "Yeah, I know." He said.

_That's an unusual response._ Yuan thought. If the boy had been born an elf, the ears wouldn't have worried him any. And Luna clearly had never seen the boy with pointed ears before, though she obviously knew him. If he had been concerned before about the girl, he was more worried now with the appearance of this boy.

"So... is this the Army?" Josh asked.

Yuan looked at him and frowned before he nodded. "This is the first division." He said.

Josh nodded and then looked at Luna again. "I really am glad to see that you're okay. Have you seen any sign of Kaylee, Morgan or Felicia?" He asked.

Luna shook her head. "No. I hope they're all okay." She said.

"I take it you were travelling with these people before?" Yuan asked.

Luna jumped as if she just remembered he was there and nodded slowly. "Yes." She said.

"You became separated somehow." Yuan said, it was obvious considering the way they were acting. Neither of them said anything, but he took that for confirmation. "I see. Luna, you seem to have found someone to travel with. You should stay here or leave on your own."

Luna glared at him, which was impressive for such a timid little girl. "No. I'm going with you whether you agree or not. I can still help." She said, determined.

Josh smiled and pat her on the back. "I knew you had fire in you." He said and looked over Yuan and the soldiers behind him. "If Luna is going with you, then so am I." He said.

"No way, you're an elf!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Josh glared at him. "And what has that got to do with anything?! I'm friends with a human." He said and gestured towards Lara. "I don't care what side you are, I'm going so I can protect her, not for any of you."

That made the others shut up, none of them knew how to respond to him. Yuan noticed Luna smile sadly and he sighed. "Fine, do what you want. I still won't be responsible if you get yourself hurt or killed." He said and walked towards the Inn. Hima was a small village, but some of the soldiers would find places to stay.

He glanced back to see Luna and Josh talking together as they followed him to the Inn. This was going to be... annoying. He didn't want to get involved, but he felt like there was no choice in the matter now. He sighed and tried not to think about it.

He walked into the Inn and looked around, taking in the state of the place. A young man stood behind the reception desk, glaring at him. Yuan noticed the look and sighed, this was not going to be easy. As he began to walk forward the boy grabbed something from behind the desk. He stopped walking, trying to gauge what the boy might be thinking.

Without a word, Luna walked by him and approached the desk. Yuan watched her and noted the boy relaxed a little as she spoke to him. She smiled a little and laughed at something the boy said. Finally she walked back over and handed him different room keys. He looked at then and then at the boy who no longer seemed to hold any hostility for him.

"What was that?" Yuan asked her.

Luna looked at him. "What was what? I just talked to him." She answered honestly, looking confused.

Yuan had a feeling something more had happened, but couldn't place what.

"Working that charm again, Luna?" Josh asked, chuckling.

"Josh, you know that's not what I do. I'm not interested in dating." Luna said, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

"No, but every guy you aren't interested in tends to notice you. That's why you're always getting free stuff." Josh replied with a bemused smile.

Now there was some interesting information. Yuan thought as he looked at the two of them. Luna was different from other humans, but she was too young for him. But she wasn't bad to talk to, and despite how young she was, he did find her attractive. He just had no interest in her. He closed his hands around the room keys though and figured he should thank her for getting them.

"Luna, thank you." He said.

She turned and looked at him. "Why are you thanking me?" She asked.

"I was prepared to face the boy's hostility, but you resolved the matter before I could act and you even got the keys to the Inn's rooms." He said. "I wanted to thank you for that."

She shook her head. "I'm more than happy to help." She answered adding a smile. "I'm keeping one key for myself." She said.

Yuan nodded, it was natural that she'd want to keep at least one key for herself. After all, it would seem rather odd for her to sleep in a room with the boy or any of his soldiers. Even if she had been willing to allow it, he wouldn't. "Naturally." He turned to the blond elf. "Josh, is it? This might be an odd request, but I know none of my men are willing to share a room with me. And they might be just as uneasy sharing a room with you since you are an elf."

"If you're asking me to share a room with you then I don't mind." The boy answered before he could really ask.

Well, at least that was squared away easily enough. "I need to talk to my men." He said, dismissing himself from the Inn. The two of them would probably want to catch up a bit more. He certainly didn't need to be around for that.

* * *

He was more than just relieved to find out that Luna was alright. They were only friends, but Luna was so sweet and innocent, Josh often felt like she was a sister to him. A cute little sister who got into trouble more often than he could count. Usually it was some trouble with overbearing guys back home, but here there were hundreds more dangers. Monsters were the first thing that came to mind, of course.

He'd had his first encounter with the strange beasts earlier when he first reached Hima. A bunch of birds and egg bears had tried to storm the mountain village. Of course, during that battle he'd discovered he had magic and that had been really helpful. The locals were grateful even if they were wary of him for his ability. But when they'd realized he wasn't just a half-elf they had let their anger subside a little.

It would seem half-elves really were hated everywhere, which made it odd that Yuan was a half-elf and a leading commander of the Sylvarant army. Apparently someone had seen enough talent and skill to overlook his race and give him that promotion. It was nice to know that, no matter what time period, not all people hated the other races. Josh certainly wasn't going to be one to practice that sort of discrimination himself, and he knew Luna wouldn't either.

Morgan and Kaylee would likely know better than to judge others by race as well, which left him worrying about Felicia. She was more stuck up and stubborn than anyone else he knew. Most likely, she would practice discrimination against anyone she felt was beneath her in any way. That made him worry about her more, especially in this world. He hoped she was safe somewhere.

"Luna, tell me everything that happened." Josh said to her.

Luna turned from looking at the door to him and let out a sigh. "It's really not that complicated. I can't remember anything about how I got here exactly. I remember that portal thing, and the blond guy, but..." She frowned. "Everything else is a blur. I just... woke up in the medical tent and realized where I was." She told him.

Josh sighed, it was more detailed than her previous answer, but still left him wondering. Every one of his friends had been separated somehow in that portal. If they were lucky they might meet the others all together. But he had a sinking feeling that they wouldn't. In the best case scenario they might meet two of the others together and in the worst they wouldn't find the others at all. He would just have to wait and see what would happen.

"Well at least you didn't wake up and have to fight a bunch of monsters." He said after a while. She had been taken in by the army and cared for so she hadn't needed to worry about that. He could be happy about that, right?

"I... I guess." Luna said shortly with a sigh.

Josh looked over at her and noticed how tired she was. "You should go get some sleep, Luna. You look like you could really use it." He said.

She looked at him her eyes wide, but she nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. I guess I'll see you in the morning." She said and wandered off in search of her room.

The doors were actually numbered and Josh guessed the keys were numbered as well to match up. After she was out of sight he heard the door open and laughter coming from outside. He looked and saw quite a few of the soldiers coming in, chatting and heading to rooms. Yuan walked in after them and looked at Josh before heading further in to find their room. Josh figured he might as well follow him right now so he'd know which room they had.

As it turned out they happened to have the room right next door to Luna. He followed the half-elf inside and looked at the two beds, thankful that he at least wouldn't need to share a bed. That would be really awkward. Yuan set his things down by one bed and Josh walked over to the other. He wasn't carrying anything on him so he didn't have to worry about unpacking or anything like that. Luna, he knew, had her backpack with her, he'd seen it on her back.

Yuan seemed more than happy to keep to himself so Josh just settled down on the bed and got ready for sleep. It was still pretty early but he believed the sun should be going down soon. Though it was hard to tell since he hadn't gone outside since entering the Inn, so he couldn't judge the time fairly. All he could tell was that this was going to be a long night. And maybe an even longer week.

* * *

They set out very early the following morning, well before the sun had risen over the distant horizon. The sky was only just starting to change color, but Luna knew it was really early. Of course, her phone wasn't working properly and seemed to be frozen. At least, from what she'd discovered in her private room last night, the music app was still working and she could play some of the games a little, but there was no internet... no surprise there, and the clocks, both digital and analog, were frozen on a single time. Since she'd checked last night, neither of them had changed. She wondered if that meant no time had passed in their world, or if it was some weird glitch with her phone. Either way the clock wasn't working, so she set the phone to silent so even if for some reason it did go off, no one would hear it.

She checked the things in her bag and looked at the Tear costume she had, if she wanted she could change into it. But she was very comfortable in her Colette cosplay right now. She would change only if she really needed to. Like, if the clothes got torn or bloody, or if they needed a good wash at the very least. The knocking on her door grew more insistent and she zipped the bag closed and threw it over her shoulder as she cast one more cursory glance around the room. She wasn't missing anything, as everything she had was still in her bag or her pockets. Yes, she had put pockets in her dress. They were cleverly hidden under the pinafore. And one other was on the inside lining at the bottom of her dress, just in case.

Luna sighed and walked to the door as the knocking grew more urgent. She opened the door and Josh nearly stumbled into the room while Yuan stared at him, clearly not amused. Luna helped Josh back up a little and followed them out of the Inn. The soldiers were all ready to go and she took a deep breath, knowing that they still had quite a way to go before they would reach Tethe'alla. After all, they still had to go through the mountain pass and that wasn't going to be a picnic. There were probably going to be monsters and things like that.

"Luna, do you have something you can fight with?" Yuan asked her after a moment and she thought about it.

"It's not much, but I have these." She pointed to the chakrams dangling from the side of her bag. She'd noticed after getting her bag back that the weapons looked far more sharp, shiny and deadly than when she had made them out of foam. She doubted she'd have the ability to throw them like boomerangs the way Colette could, but she could use them like daggers or punching rings. She could still throw them, but then she'd have to retrieve them after each fight or be left without a weapon.

"You know how to use those?" Yuan asked, his brow raised in disbelief.

Luna shrugged. "I haven't had to fight all that much, really. But I can use them to defend myself when necessary." She answered, hoping that she could do just that.

Yuan stared at her for a while and then glanced at Josh who was busy not paying attention to anything they were saying or doing. In fact, Josh was kind of staring ahead at the path they were about to take further into the mountains. About a minute later Yuan called two soldiers over and gave them orders to stay close to her and Josh in case any monsters showed up. She was a bit upset that he didn't trust her word, but even she had to admit that he was probably right to give them the extra protection.

The two soldiers didn't look all to happy about having to protect Josh, but neither of them complained. At least, they didn't voice any complaints. Yuan then went to talk to his soldiers and they all formed columns, lines, rows, whatever you would call them and began to march. Yuan motioned for Luna, Josh and the two soldiers to follow up front with him, so she walked over and followed as they began walking up the mountain path.

Several hours later their walking was interrupted by a piercing scream from somewhere further back in the line. Luna spun around on the spot to see what was happening behind them and saw... was that a demon?

A tall, gruesome looking demon was fighting in the midst of the soldiers. It's weapon was a giant axe that seemed to grow a little in size with every kill. How... what? Luna stared in disbelief and then... it was looking at her. Completely ignoring the human and possibly half-elf soldiers around it, it's sole focus was now completely on her. She froze, wanting to reach for her chakrams so she would be able to defend herself, but also terrified because it was _looking at her_.

Large, terrifyingly bat-like wings sprouted from the demon's back and it took to the air. Oh god, it was coming for her. She had to move, duck, at least do something. But, her legs wouldn't move, she was too afraid. Her eyes widened as the demon hefted it's axe, readying to kill her as it passed overhead. Why couldn't she move? Was it the demon's power or was she really just that scared she was petrified?

The crystal on her chest thrummed with energy and her mouth opened in a silent scream as the demon threw the axe. It came hurtling towards her, it would cleave her in two if she didn't get out of the way. She wanted to, to move and get out of the way. To live and help save this world but... dammit, why couldn't she MOVE!

Her heart raced faster and louder and she heard rushing in her ears and she couldn't focus. And suddenly she was shoved, pushed to the ground just as the axe was about to hit her. In a split second she had been standing there, waiting for death, and the next she was falling to the ground. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She looked around, her mind racing as she saw one of the two soldiers standing in her place, the axe embedding itself deep into his chest. The world seemed to lose all sound as she hit the ground, staring wide-eyed at the man who had sacrificed himself for her.

His body fell to the ground almost as slowly as she felt she had fallen herself. She looked around and saw Yuan casting, the purple runes dancing around his feet. Josh was in a similar position, though he was summoning fire magic instead. "Thunder Blade!" Yuan shouted while Josh simultaneously called out "Flame Burst!" That was technically a spell from the Abyss version of the Tales games, but it worked at distances. The demon howled with pain and swooped down to retrieve it's axe. At that moment, Yuan swept forward, the Swallow in hand and fought the beast now that it was closer to the cliff-path.

He managed to give it a serious, if not completely fatal, injury and the demon glared at him before glancing at her. Luna couldn't think, and it still felt like the world was far away from her, like she was in some kind of cocoon at the moment. She was certain she saw the demon smirk, however, as it seemed to... laugh? It flew backwards away from the cliff and disappeared in a flash, just as quickly as it had appeared before.

The world seemed to come back into focus just as suddenly and she realized someone was calling her name. "Luna! Luna!" She looked up and noticed Josh was shaking her shoulder, his expression was... frantic.

"I... I'm okay." She mumbled and tried to sit up. She was hit with a sudden wave of nausea and her head hurt. "Ow." She muttered.

Josh stared at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, skeptically.

Luna frowned and shook her head. "Let me through!" A voice called out and she recognized it as Doctor Grey. She could hear the soldiers parting and his hurried footsteps as he rushed up front to see who was injured. "Luna!" He said in surprise, his voice was annoyingly loud all of a sudden.

She flinched and sat back a bit. "Could you... not be so loud?" She asked, trying to get her head on straight.

"O-of course." The doctor said more softly as he got out his medical kit and began to examine her. "Where does it hurt?" He asked.

Luna shook her head. "I didn't get attacked, I just feel sick." She answered. It was true, though everything she saw was sharper, clearer than she'd ever seen it before, she felt horribly ill. The man looked at her and ran a few simple medical tests anyway to make sure.

"She needs to rest." He concluded, which she thought was fairly obvious if anyone else had been paying attention.

Yuan stared at the doctor and then glanced at her. "We need to keep moving, doctor. Can't we just have someone carry her?" He asked.

Lucian shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that will only worsen her condition. The best thing for her will be to rest here until she is recovered enough to move on her own." He answered. Yuan looked like he was about to protest when the doctor held up a hand to silence him. "I am sorry Commander, but that is the only solution that works for us. We might only need to rest for a couple of hours even, it's hard to say." The man said looking at her.

Luna tried not to meet any of their eyes, she was starting to understand what had happened to her. Her sudden near-death experience had activated her crystal enough that she was suffering from Angel Toxicosis. Not that Lucian Grey knew anything about that, obviously. Still, she felt sick to her stomach and could barely move without feeling dizzy and aggravating her headache. She heard Yuan sigh. "Very well, you are the doctor." He then went and spoke to the men about taking a break.

As she leaned against the rocky wall, she watched as Yuan built a small campfire and began cooking. It smelled really good, and she wondered what he was making. Josh sat nearby, glancing at her, though he looked more confused than she felt. She wondered if he had come to the same conclusion she had about the Angel Toxicosis. From his expression, he hadn't, and was still trying to figure out what was wrong with her. As Yuan handed her a bowl of the stew he was making, she silently accepted it and stared at the bowl.

She had no appetite right now, not even the smallest temptation to eat the food in front of her. But it smelled so good, plus it would be rude not to at least try to eat it. She grabbed the smooth wooden spoon and blew on the stew to cool it enough to eat. Still no appetite, but she shoved the spoonful into her mouth and chewed. Although it had smelled so delicious and had even looked appetizing, it... it was bland. There was absolutely no taste to the food in her mouth. If anything, it tasted so unappealing that she jumped to her feet and staggered to the edge of the cliff-path and threw up over the side. The bile continued to rise in her throat but at least she couldn't taste that either, it was like a simple reaction from her body to remove the contents of her stomach.

After a few minutes when nothing else came back up, she returned to the wall and sank to her butt against it. She gave what was left of her stew back to Yuan and he looked at her oddly. "That was a pretty severe reaction." He said, having obviously seen her throw up.

Luna smiled weakly and gestured to the bowl. "I don't have much of an appetite right now. Maybe I'll be able to eat later." She said, reassuringly. At least, she hoped she was being reassuring. Yuan stared at her for a moment longer and then shrugged. He gave what was left of her bowl to someone else who hadn't got a serving and she looked away as she hugged her knees to her chest. She'd only been in this world for a very short period of time, and yet she had already begun the process of turning into an angel here. Luna stared at the ground in front of her feet and sighed, her body still ached a little, the thrum of energy from her crystal still echoing in parts of her body. It wasn't until that surge of energy returned to the crystal that she felt well enough to move again, and by then the sun was already lowering behind the mountains.

"You're sure you're well enough to start walking again?" Yuan and Josh both asked her for the fifth time.

Luna let out an exasperated sigh and nodded. "Yes, I don't feel sick or dizzy anymore. We can get moving again. I've held us up long enough as it is." She said.

Josh sighed and shrugged his arms while Yuan went and gave the orders to pack up and move out. Josh looked at her. "Luna, are you sure-?" He began.

"Yes, Josh!" She snapped, her hands clenching into fists. "I'm fine now. Let's just get moving." She said rather hotly.

Josh took a step back, clearly unprepared for her sudden vehement outburst. He frowned, but said nothing as they started walking again. Luna felt bad for snapping at him like that and made a mental note to apologize to him later. Right now she was still too mad and worried about the crystal on her chest to think rationally.

They walked for a long time, well into the night, but they didn't encounter the demon again. There were a few monsters here and there, living in the caves they passed by on their trek, but they were relatively easy to fight. And after a time, the monsters stopped bothering them. She guessed the monsters finally realized there were too many people to come out of their caves and attack. Either way, it worked out until they set up came for the night.

Josh went to sleep fairly quick and Luna was curious about something. Yuan was taking first watch on this end while other soldiers throughout the line were taking first watch. She could see the campfires spread out over the distance of the trail and smiled slightly to herself. She was a little surprised that she could see so far ahead now, but that was due to her suddenly becoming an angel. She stood up and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Yuan asked, looking up from the fire at her.

Luna looked back at him, feeling a little guilty. "I'm just gonna go for a walk. I can't sleep just yet, I won't go too far." She said.

Yuan's stare was rather unnerving and she almost faltered and told him about what she was planning to do. Eventually, though, he dropped his gaze and nodded. "Be careful." He said simply.

She bit her lip and nodded to him as she walked away a bit. When she felt she was far enough away she sat on the ground and crossed her legs. She wanted to see if she could sense any mana in her, and if there was, if she could form wings. Luna closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts, entering a meditative state. She didn't do this very often back home, and reserved the practice for when things got particularly hectic for her. She felt her chest moving slowly with each deep breath and searched herself. After a moment, she felt a strange, foreign energy inside of her, and realized that it was, indeed, mana. It felt sort of like... hmm, what was a good word to describe how it felt.

She tried to focus on shifting the energy around a little to acquaint herself with the new energy. It flowed slowly at first and then began to move more fluidly according to her will. She judged it then to be like syrup. When it was cool or cold, fresh from the fridge, it didn't flow as smooth or quick, and when it warmed up, it moved more fluidly. It's density was like air, but it felt almost like moving syrup around inside her.

Okay, so she had that part under control. Moving the energy around wasn't too hard. She would have to practice every day to move it around and get used to the feeling of it. But she still wanted to experiment a bit. Luna took another deep breath and thought about how the angels have wings and wondered if she could will the energy to form them. It shouldn't be too hard, right? She swirled the energy a little bit more and tried to focus on it, willing it to take shape. She really wanted to see if it was possible. In the game, Colette simply got wings from the first seal, but here, without any seal or guidance, she had to try and learn on her own. She willed the mana to leave her body and stop outside, hopefully taking the form of wings.

As she thought of the command, she felt the energy move into action, sliding out of her leaving her core empty of her new energy. She wondered if she'd failed, but gasped slightly as she felt the energy build up at her back and burst out, flowing out and then suddenly stopping, taking a more solid form. Luna's eyes fluttered open and she noticed there was a soft pale blue glow coming from behind her. She glanced back and stared at the luminescent wings. They were that same slightly translucent, crystal-like wings that Colette and the Seraphim had from the game. The only differences between her wings and Colette's were the shape and size, as well as the color. Where Colette's wings were pink and magenta with a hint of purple, Luna's wings were pale blue, fading out to white at the tips.

They fluttered gently behind her and she smiled, standing up near the cliff edge. Luna sighed and focused on the mana, pulling it back into her body. She knew now that she could at least form the wings, but she wasn't yet ready to try flying with them. She felt the wings slide back into her as the mana broke apart and once again became a swirling energy at her core. It was strange how well she could feel it now, but at least that would just make it easier to control the energy again later.

Knowing she had probably spent enough time away from the camp, she walked back up the path and saw Yuan. He looked up at her approach but said nothing about how long she'd been away. Luna wasn't in the mood to talk right now, and she was suddenly really tired, so she just laid down on her new sleeping bag and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so I don't know if anyone's noticed, but I am trying to keep this story on a bit more of a regular schedule than my other fics. As such, I am trying to write the next couple of chapters ahead of time before uploading, revising and posting the new chapters. The result, giving you slightly shorter chapters than you might find in my other stories. But hey, at least I'm trying to make a regular updated fic for once. xP**


	5. Yes, Your Majesty

**I do not own this. Only the OC's.**

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Yes, Your Majesty**

Three days had passed by already as they waited for word or sign that the King would allow an audience with them. Kaylee was actually starting to get really annoyed that it was taking this long. Sure, the guy probably had a lot on his plate to deal with but seriously, three whole friggin' days?! What the hell! She wanted to run into the castle and scream at the bastard, but she knew that the guards wouldn't like that. Heck, she probably wouldn't even make it up to the throne enough to shout at him.

They had been left with nothing to do and since most of the people, if not all, distrusted Martel and Mithos, they usually stayed at the manor. Kratos was a gracious enough host and usually ended up glaring at the maids when they slipped up and started discriminating against the new house guests. But, he was actually really nice to be around. Unlike the four thousand year old seraph from the game, Kratos was calm, rational, friendly (if a bit awkward), and all around decent. When Mithos talked about magic, he listened intently, even though he couldn't use any himself, he was clearly fascinated by the subject matter.

Morgan even joined in the conversation to learn more about magic as well. Since he had been able to use it in their fight three days ago and even still, he obviously wanted to know as much about it as possible. Kaylee had taken it upon herself, with help from Morgan every now and then, to do odd jobs around the city, hoping to earn money. People gave her dark looks a lot, but when she was alone they never yelled at her or complained about the work she did. She was human like everyone else in the city. She never saw any half-elves here.

"I'm going for a walk." She announced to no one in particular.

Currently Martel was explaining to Kratos the finer points of her ideal to end discrimination. And Morgan and Mithos were talking about magic again, and how to control mana. She waited to see if any of them would respond to her announcement, and when no answer was forthcoming, she simply got up and left the manor. With a frown, she tried to figure out where she wanted to go and figured she might as well walk around the marketplace. It was a nice enough place to start and she might be able to pick up a few odd jobs again. They could always use more gald.

The market was as busy as it had been yesterday and Kaylee went looking around, searching for more gels to buy and hopefully more jobs to complete. Gels were a heck of a lot more expensive than she would have thought, but they were also a LOT more potent, apparently. An apple gel could actually heal a deep gash while a lemon gel could close up and heal a near-fatal wound. Life Bottles could bring someone back from the brink of death, though not from death itself. If the body was truly dead the bottle would be useless. However, if you happened to have a Miracle gel on hand, that would actually work. So they were more expensive than any other medicine. Life bottles cost about two thousand gald while Miracle gels were around five thousand gald.

They were far too expensive to buy for her, but some of the nobles had them and would agree to give them as payment for certain jobs. Thankfully none of the nobles here were like Zelos, at least, as far as she had discovered. Some just wanted important items delivered to someone else, like a letter, or a gift. Others asked for the head of some monster(s), or a rare flower from the woods. It was pretty easy work, and she would usually accept the task while by herself and if she needed to hunt down a monster, she'd go back to the manor and ask Morgan to help her. Every now and then, Mithos decided to go with them, claiming he wanted to practice magic some more. Kaylee suspected he wanted to do that, but also that he wanted to get out of the city a little bit. Which was odd considering how close he was to his sister, rarely leaving her side... ever.

"Hey! You!" She heard someone calling and she turned her gaze away from the current stall. A young, well-dressed... scratch that, VERY well-dressed woman, was hurrying over. Three guards were following at her heels and Kaylee stared in surprise. She'd heard there was a princess, but had never seen her outside of the castle. It didn't look like she ever ventured outside, and by the time she reached Kaylee's side, her dress was a bit ruffled from running, and she was holding her side as she panted for breath.

Kaylee waited patiently for the young woman's exhaustion to pass. Finally, the princess stood up straight and pulled a lace fan from the one of the folds in her dress. She flicked it open and fanned herself as she looked Kaylee over from head to foot. Her eyes narrowed slightly in either suspicion or jealousy but eventually she smiled. "You're the girl who came here with the three half-elves, correct?" She asked.

Kaylee was instantly weary of this woman and hoped the conversation wouldn't last very long. "I am." Kaylee replied curtly. "What about it?" She asked.

"HEY!" A voice yelled from behind the princess. One of the Knights was glaring at Kaylee. "When addressing the princess, you will refer to her as Your Highness." He said angrily.

The princess sighed and turned to the knight. "I don't think that's necessary." She said before turning to Kaylee again.

Kaylee smirked. "Oh no, it's quite alright... _Your Highness_." She said, putting as much sarcasm and disdain into the title as she could muster in her voice. "What can I do for you, _Your Highness?_" Kaylee asked, her voice still dripping sarcasm.

The guards clearly didn't like that and one made to step forward and teach her a lesson. But he stopped when the princess laughed suddenly. "I like this girl." She said briefly. "Anyway, I have come to deliver a message to you, actually." The princess said.

Kaylee paused at that, the princess had come to give her a message? Shouldn't she have just let one of their servants do that or something? She looked at the woman again, her long bronze hair hung in ringlets down her back, and framing her face. The eyes were a light hazel, and actually warmer than she'd expected. Though it was obvious the girl was born to privilege and a bit spoiled at that, she also seemed to be a decent person, that is, if you were human. "Why deliver the message yourself?" She asked finally.

Princess Hildegard laughed again. "Because I wanted to see my would-be competition for myself." She said.

Kaylee frowned and furrowed her brow in confusion at that. "Competition?" She wondered.

The princess smiled. "Kratos and I are engaged to be married, although he has yet to formally and officially accept the engagement." She said. "And the only reason I can think of that he'd be willing to put up with half-elves was if he met somone he liked more than me." She added.

Now it was Kaylee's turn to laugh. "You think...!" She couldn't say the words, how on earth had the woman come to that conclusion. Kaylee was a teenager, and by the laws of this world, she could legally be married despite her young age but... still. "Oh god, you've got it all wrong." Kaylee said, trying to stifle her laughter. "I don't think Kratos likes me like that." She told the princess.

The woman frowned. "Well, either way, I did come to give you a message." She said curtly. She probably didn't like being laughed at.

Kaylee nodded. "Alright, so what's the message?" She asked.

The princess smiled knowingly. "I have convinced my father to hold an audience with you and your... _friends_." She said, clearly trying not to remember that Kaylee's 'friends' were half-elves. "The time for your audience with him is tomorrow at mid-day. Don't be late, or you will never get the opportunity again." The princess said and turning on her heel, stormed off back to the castle.

Kaylee started laughing again. She had made an enemy of the princess she was sure, but that didn't bother her. She'd never liked stuck-up rich people anyway. And the princess was clearly stuck-up. That much was obvious in her disdain for half-elves. Well, it didn't matter right now if the princess liked or disliked her, she had to get the news to the others. With a smile on her face she ran back up to the nobles' quarter and rushed into the manor. Everyone looked up suddenly as she burst into the room.

"We're getting an audience with the King." Kaylee announced, unable to keep her excitement from bubbling over.

* * *

She ran into the room so suddenly, everyone was surprised beyond their wits. Even Kratos, who clearly prized himself on being rarely surprised, couldn't hide the shock he felt at the girl's sudden appearance. Martel was also shocked, she hadn't realized Kaylee had even left the room, let alone the building. But her news, where in the name of Origin had she learned that? It was certainly wonderful news, and she felt happiness rising over her shock, but still.

She noticed Kratos stand up from his seat, staring at the younger girl, his expression unreadable. "How do you know this?" He asked.

Kaylee was obviously really excited and hurried through the explanation, telling them about her meeting with the princess in the marketplace. Kratos' expression remained unreadable throughout the story, but after a moment, she noticed a slightly pained look on his face. It was gone before she could make note of it and he sat down. "This is good news." He said. "What time?" He asked.

"Tomorrow at mid-day. That's all she said." Kaylee answered.

"We'll have to show up before then. The steward will call for us and if we just so happen to be off by even one minute we ruin our chances." He said, rubbing his temple.

"But it's a good thing. We at least have an audience with the king now." Martel said from where she was sitting. Kratos nodded, not looking at anyone. "Kaylee, thank you so much for coming back and letting us know." She said.

Kaylee beamed a smile at her and nodded. "I'm gonna head back out and try to see if there's any work to do for today." She said and left again.

Well, at least this time everyone was aware that she was leaving. Martel smiled warmly as she heard the front door close and turned back to the others. "She works really hard. I hope she doesn't wear herself out." She said, concerned.

Morgan was staring towards the door Kaylee had left through. "For as long as I've known her, she always works hard. But I've never seen her work herself ragged. She should be fine." He said after a moment.

Martel looked at him and nodded. "That's good. I think she's been the most restless since we got here." She thought aloud, and it was true as far as she'd seen. Morgan didn't seem to like the wait, but just like with her and her brother, he couldn't go out much without being treated poorly. She knew her brother was likely a little restless as well, but he was better at hiding it.

Morgan and Mithos continued their magic discussion shortly after the awkward silence and she felt her thoughts drifting. Kratos clearly noticed and decided to join in their conversation to leave her to her thoughts. She smiled, grateful that he was so understanding. It wasn't often humans were this accepting, but Kratos clearly wasn't bothered by their race, even if the maids in his house were. She wondered what sort of upbringing he'd had to have this result.

After all, Kratos was clearly of the noble class, and he was even a Knight. His mother and father probably didn't condone equal treatment of half-elves. So why was Kratos so decent? It was hard to imagine any situation that might have caused this result. Well, it wasn't anything to complain about at least. He had listened to them and even offered his own home as a place for them to stay.

Kaylee came back about an hour later, panting again, though she hadn't surprised any of them as much as last time. Martel looked up at her with a smile. "Find any work?" She asked.

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah. I helped a clerk reorganize their shelves and displays and then a noble approached me. He wants the head of a wyvern that lives deep in the forest." She said.

Well, it was no wonder Kaylee had come back here. Wyverns were more dangerous than most other monsters. Martel stood from her seat, as did her brother and Morgan. Even Kratos was standing, taking a moment to check that his sword was in the sheath at his side. "Let's go." He said simply.

Kaylee looked around at all of them, clearly surprised but pleased that they were all coming to help. "Yeah." She said easily and led the way out.

Kratos locked up the manor before they set off and Martel noticed all the looks they got as they headed for the exit to the city. She sighed, wondering if these people would ever be able to accept half-elves. From what Kratos had mentioned, the few half-elves that did live in the city were either slaves, or free but they lived in the slums of the city. No one bothered to solve their problems down there either. It was sad, but right now they weren't here to help them, they were here to warn the city. Maybe later they would be able to help with that, but not yet.

Martel followed Kaylee and the others out of the city and into the forest nearby. So far her only encounter with this forest had led to being surrounded by monsters. But, if that hadn't happened, they wouldn't have met Morgan and Kaylee. And if that hadn't happened, they might not have made it to the city to meet Kratos. So all in all, while the monster encounter was bad, it had led up to something good.

"How far do we have to go to find one monster?" Mithos asked, sounding annoyed.

Martel looked over at her brother and sighed. "It probably has a den by the mountain, Mithos. It could take us well over an hour to get there." She said to him.

Mithos huffed and crossed his arms, trying to look older and stronger than he was. She appreciated his efforts, knowing he just wanted to help her. Kratos was leading them through the woods right now, hand on the hilt of his sword. It was nice to know he was prepared for any danger, and Morgan looked about ready to kill something too. Kaylee seemed to be the only other person here who was walking calmly.

She was right though, it took them well over an hour to find the wyvern. They at least had an early warning sign that it was coming too. The steady beat of it's wings told them it was up ahead. Martel gripped her staff a little tighter, she had to admit, she was a little worried, but they had a few capable fighters so... it should be alright.

"Be on your guard." Kratos said from up ahead, drawing his sword as quietly as possible. Morgan followed his example.

"I know that!" Mithos said angrily. A little too loud, though as he quickly covered his mouth.

Kratos turned his head to look at him. "And try not to shout. The wyvern doesn't know we're here yet. It's better we catch it off guard than alert it to our presence." He said seriously.

Mithos just glared at the human, and Martel sighed, walking over and gently placing a hand on his shoulder. Mithos jumped slightly, but relaxed when he realized it was her. "He's right, Mithos." She said simply.

"It's flying right now. Don't we need to get it to the ground?" Kaylee asked.

Kratos looked ahead and then nodded. "If we can get it grounded that would be best." He said.

Mithos smiled and walked forward, already charging up his mana. "Let me handle that part." He said confidently. Martel worried about her brother sometimes. Blue light danced around his feet as he walked forward. "Splash!" Mithos called out.

Martel saw the water burst up from the ground a few feet ahead, followed by a shriek. She even saw the creature fall to the ground. Kratos, Morgan and Kaylee rushed forward to take it down. She followed, but knew it was better to keep her distance as much as possible. Mithos was already casting again and she smiled as she began charging her mana just in case.

"Sonic Thrust!" Kratos called out, stabbing his sword forward into the monsters' wing.

Strangely enough, though it possessed many draconic qualities about it, the wyverns' wings were feathered. And since they were soaked in water it had trouble using them to lift itself from the ground. "Splash!" Mithos called again, drenching the creature in even more water.

It lunged forward for a moment and managed to knock Kaylee over, while Kratos slashed his sword at it. Morgan was doing the same, but he had another idea. "Kratos, Kaylee, back away from the water!" He told them.

Kratos looked unsure, but did as he was asked and Kaylee clearly didn't need to be told twice. Morgan charged forwards and thrust his blade out. "Lightning Blade!" He called out and as his sword sank into the monsters' hide, a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and zapped the water drenched monster.

It let out a screech, but the sound died out as the wyvern fell to the ground. Unlike with the other monsters, it didn't disappear in a burst of mana. Kaylee watched, a little sickened by the sight, as Kratos sawed the wyverns' head off. "The client wanted it's head." She said and when Kratos made to hand it to her, she backed away. "I'm not carrying that thing. It's still bleeding." She complained.

Morgan walked over and took the head instead. "Geeze, get over it, will you Kaylee? It's just blood." He said.

Kaylee frowned and crossed her arms. "It's just blood, he says." She sighed.

Martel smiled slightly and looked at the others. Everyone looked alright, and the wyvern was taken care of as well. "Is anyone hurt?" She asked though, to be on the safe side.

Kaylee shook her head. "I might have a bruise or something, but nothing I can't handle." She said.

That's right, the younger woman had fallen when the wyvern lunged forward, trying to get up. Martel smiled and released the energy she had stored. "First Aid." She said. Kaylee looked surprised, but thanked her for it after. "It's not a problem. You've been such a help to us so far." Martel said with a smile.

Kaylee smiled. "Yeah, well. I just like helping." She said with a shrug. "So, how about getting that head back to the city?" She asked.

Morgan rolled his eyes and tossed it at her. "Ahhh!" Kaylee ducked under it and positively flipped when some of the still dripping blood landed on her skin. "Oh, gross. Get it off..." She made a face, but stood there, her fingers twitching.

"You, really don't like blood." Morgan said, looking stunned.

Kaylee managed a weak nod and looked at him. "Can you... please get this... this _stuff_ off of me?" She asked.

Morgan sighed and walked over, taking a part of his clothing and wiping the blood from her skin. "There, that takes care of it." He said. "You okay now?"

"Hold on." Kaylee checked herself and sighed when she didn't find any blood. "Yep, now let's go." She walked on ahead.

Morgan stooped to pick up the wyvern head and sighed. "I honestly didn't know." He said softly.

Martel smiled at him. "It's okay, Morgan. We all make mistakes sometimes. And as you said, you didn't know." She said to him. "Now, how about we follow her example?"

Morgan nodded and followed after Kaylee. Martel smiled as she and Mithos followed along as well, Kratos bringing up the rear to keep an eye out for more monsters. It was certainly a very odd day. And she was looking forward to their audience with the king tomorrow. At least they could finally get something done.

* * *

Josh had never told him anything about this the last time he'd gotten the chance to see him. Although, it might be that Kaylee had never told anyone about her phobia, and went to great lengths to stay out of situations where it might show up. Either way, it would be a hindrance if they got into any more fighting where blood would be spilled. It was kind of cute that she had a phobia, but not a good thing. This world was far more realistic than he would have ever given thought to. If she got into any trouble, he would have to protect her. Of course, all this thinking left him wondering how he had become a half-elf in this world. Not that he really minded so much, it gave him the ability to use magic, but it was still odd.

Morgan was left carrying the disgusting monster head, the blood was dry now though, so it wasn't dripping on the ground as he walked anymore. That, and it wasn't getting on his clothes anymore. He looked back and saw that a good portion of Kratos' outfit was covered in blood though. He felt a little bad about that, but the man had cut the monster's head off himself. He probably had a change of clothes at his manor anyway, so it might not be that big a deal to him.

When they finally reentered the city, he turned to Martel, Mithos and Kratos. "We'll meet you guys back at the manor." He said.

"Alright. Be safe." Martel said with a nod of her head.

Morgan nodded in reply and followed after Kaylee who was headed, he guessed, to wherever their client's home was. He was quiet, trying to think over the past few days. How much time had gone by back home? Was it the same as here, or had they only been here for a few minutes? He had no idea and there wasn't anyone to explain this. He hoped to every god there was that they hadn't been missing for a few days back home, because lord only knew how long they might be stuck in this world.

Suddenly he felt something push his shoulder. "Huh?" He looked up, not realizing he'd been completely out of it.

Kaylee had her hands on her hips and gestured at the man standing in the door behind her. "Well, give him the head." She said, sounding annoyed. Though her expression clearly showed she looked worried.

Morgan nodded. "Right." He walked forward and gave the wyvern head to the man, who turned and put in on a table just inside the door.

The man seemed to look it over for a while and then he turned to them with a smile. "You found the right Wyvern. Hold on and I'll be back with that reward I promised." He walked off into the house and when he came back, handed a small cardboard box to Kaylee. "Everything is in there. You can look inside if you don't trust me."

Kaylee smiled. "Umm, yeah. Nothing against you, but I will have a look." She slipped the lid off and Morgan caught a glimpse of the gald coins, the carefully wrapped gels and... were those Life Bottles? Man, this guy had really wanted that wyvern head. "Yep, everything is here. Thank you so much." Kaylee said to the guy and she walked back down the way they had come.

Morgan followed her silently, not sure what to do or say right now. In the few days that they had been here in the city, Kaylee had been working hard doing odd jobs. He'd helped her out with fighting monsters, and she had raked in quite a lot of money for them. As well as healing supplies they might very well need for later. And, she was so good with talking to people. Apart from their first encounter with the Meltokio locals, the people here seemed to love her. Sure she wasn't a half-elf so they didn't hate her, but they had grown to appreciate how nice she was.

"Why are you always helping people?" He finally asked as they headed up the stairs to the higher level.

Kaylee looked over at him. "What do you mean why? It's nice to help people out." She answered.

"Yes, but you do it so easily. Why do you need to help everyone you meet?" He asked this time. He was genuinely curious about her reason for helping out everyone she met who had a problem. Because that's what she had been doing since they got here. Sure she was getting paid in gald and items that would be useful to them for later, but still. It made him wonder.

Kaylee sighed. "I don't need a reason, okay? Now can you drop it?" She asked.

Morgan frowned. "Yeah, sure. I'll drop it for now." He told her.

A few minutes later, they were walking back into the manor and Morgan heard shouting. What was this about now? He followed Kaylee into the main living hall, where an older woman was shouting at... Kratos?

"What were you thinking?! Did you think that being at my friend's house I wouldn't find out!" The woman yelled, slapping Kratos. The woman had long crimson hair tied up in a fancy hairstyle. "And to suggest to His Majesty that he listen to a bunch of filthy savages! Really Kratos?! What is going through your head!" The woman continued to yell.

Kratos just stood there, not saying anything to calm the woman, letting her rage at him. His eyes were downcast and Morgan could see the angry red mark growing on his cheek. He realized the woman was probably Kratos' mother. He cleared his throat and the woman looked over at him and Kaylee, looking rather startled.

"Is everything okay?" Kaylee was the first to speak up following the awkward silence.

The woman, Kratos' mother, glared at Kaylee and then looked back at her son. "I see what's going on here. You're planning to renounce the engagement aren't you? After everything your father and I have done for you. How could you betray us like this?!" She screamed at Kratos.

The man still said nothing, though he took a deep breath, probably to keep himself calm. "I was planning nothing of the sort, Mother." Kratos said finally.

The crimson haired woman narrowed her eyes and gestured toward Kaylee. "Then who is she? She's clearly human. No human in their right mind would ever really want to help filthy half-elves."

"HEY!" Kaylee yelled from next to him. He hoped she didn't do anything too rash. But just as he worried about that, Kaylee stormed over to Kratos' mother. "That half-elf there happens to be my friend. Don't talk about him like that. He's no filthier than you are." She said hotly, though she wasn't attacking the woman or raising her voice too much. But she was still clearly mad. "Kratos was just trying to help us. And you want to know why? Because it's the right thing to do."

Kratos' mother narrowed her eyes again and turned her head up in disgust at Kaylee. "Foolish nonsense." She said in response to the girl. Finally, she looked at Kratos and walked out of the room, rudely pushing Morgan aside as she did. "I hope you come to your senses soon, Kratos. Before it's too late." She said before leaving the manor altogether.

Morgan sighed and shook his head. "This has not been a good day." He muttered softly.

* * *

Kratos went around the following morning, making sure that everyone was awake and ready to get going. If they were going to be on time for their audience with the king, they had to be at the Castle at least two hours before they were to be called. After all, some audiences with the peasants or nobles took less time than they were allotted for. A problem that was proposed to take fifteen minutes could sometimes be solved in five. He knew this, because he had spent a few days in court to watch as the king handled the issues brought before him. It had been his mother's idea at the time, but it had been a valuable experience, despite how bored he had been that day.

"It's so early!" Kaylee complained again. This was the fifth time she had said it.

"We need to be inside the Castle by at least nine. If you want to miss out on this chance to meet the king then by all means, continue to sleep." He told her.

The black-haired girl groaned. "Curse you for being so rational." She muttered.

Kratos smiled a little at that as he moved about, making sure everything else was in order. Martel and Mithos were both wide awake and ready to get going, and so was Morgan. Kaylee was the only one reluctant to actually get up and move around. But as they waited, she came out of her room, fully dressed, and carrying the small pack she had bought after their first day in the city. When she hopped down off the last couple steps, he could hear the items jingling around in there.

"Are we all ready to get going?" He asked them.

"I think we are." Martel said, though she sounded uncertain. "Will the king even listen to us?"

Kratos looked at her and nodded. "The King might not like you because of your race, but he is reasonable. I'm sure he will at least listen to your words." He replied.

The green-haired half-elf nodded absently, still clearly unsure. No one else said anything so Kratos walked to the door. "Let's go." He said, leading the way out. He locked the door to the manor when they were outside and led the way to the courtyard. From there, he took a right turn and led them up the steps into the Castle. The guards seemed hesitant to let in the group, but Kratos told them that the group was indeed supposed to be here. They relented at that, relieved that he was the escort for the group.

It bothered him just how much the other people in the city hated half-elves. Even those who were more rational like himself still held a lot of suspicion for half-elves. It wasn't fair that they were treated this way just because of their race. He shook the thoughts from his head and led the others inside. The main chamber was straight ahead through the set of large ornate double doors, but they were supposed to wait in another room. He turned to the left and led them there. The room was filled with other people waiting to see the king, and most of the seats were occupied. And those that weren't were soon filled up when the people saw who had entered the room. Dark looks were cast in the direction of the group, and Kratos, annoyed by this behavior, glared back at the people who were acting so rude. Some of them cowered under his glare, but didn't make to give up their seats.

This was a lot worse than he thought. He looked at the others and noticed they didn't seem to mind so much. Mithos was standing in front of Martel, glaring at the nearest human who was glaring back at the boy. Kaylee looked a little tense, but wasn't yelling at anyone or making a scene. And Morgan just leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to ignore the humans. Kratos sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be a very long wait.

Four hours later, they were still waiting in the room. They were the only ones left, Kaylee was pacing back and forth across the room. Martel was sitting on the bench, watching the girl as she walked. Mithos was sitting next to his sister, tapping his foot angrily on the floor. And Morgan was still up against the wall, but he looked just as annoyed as Kratos felt. All the groups before them had been deliberately extending their audience by arguing with decisions made by the king. Probably in the hopes of preventing them from getting an audience.

Finally, after so many hours of waiting, their group was called, and Kratos led the way into the throne room. Guards flanked them on either side, eyes suspicious of the group. Martel and Mithos both knelt on the ground, followed by Kaylee and Morgan.

"So you are the travelers Kratos spoke of?" The king asked after a moment of very awkward silence.

Martel bowed her head. "Yes, Your Majesty." She said softly, in as polite a tone as ever.

"Why exactly did you come to Meltokio?"

"We came here to warn the city. My brother and I overheard of a mission to attack this city directly." Martel answered.

"Ha! I wouldn't put it past the Sylvaranti to pull a stunt like this. Sending you here to make up stories. Like anyone would fall for that sort of trick." The king said. "Do you have proof of this secret mission?"

Kratos was appalled that the king was treating them this way. Did he really believe that they were lying? Martel hung her head in defeat. "No, Your Majesty." She answered.

"See? Nothing but a bunch of liars." The king said. "Take them out of the city. I don't want to see their like here again."

"What?!" Kratos exclaimed, unable to control himself. He stared at the king, trying to gauge what the man was thinking.

"Kratos, I know this is unfortunate, but these... _people_... have no proof to back up their claims." The king said, waving his hand in dismissal.

"What if we get proof?!" He heard Kaylee exclaim from behind him.

The king rubbed his chin, a frown settling on his features. "If you manage to find proof, I will consider your story." He finally said. "Now, I believe we are done here." He dismissed them.

The group walked out of the throne room and through the main hall of the castle. When they were finally outside, Kratos wasn't really sure what to do, or even... to say.

"Great. How are we going to get proof?!" Mithos exclaimed.

Martel shook her head. "I don't know."

"You said the army was coming through the pass in the mountains right?" Kaylee asked.

Martel looked at her. "Yes, what are you suggesting?"

The smile on the girl's face set his nerves on edge, but Kratos had to admit, even he was curious about her plan. "Why don't we go looking for them? I bet they'll have a missive from the main part of the army. That should be proof enough, right?" She asked.

Well, what do you know? The girl had a point. He just hoped they didn't get caught, or killed, by this plan. It was incredibly dangerous. "If we're going to do this, we should leave the city before nightfall. We can't risk missing them when they come out of that pass." Kratos said.

Kaylee just looked at him and then towards the field below the city. "Well, what are we waiting for?" She asked.

* * *

**This chapter took far longer to write than I expected. I had hoped to finish this a few weeks ago and already be started on the next several chapters. *sighs***

**Also... Very happy! I got my first review on this story! ^ ^ Thanks Shiary.**


	6. Reunited Friends

**I do not own Tales of Symphonia or the characters therein.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Reunited Friends**

The following week after the demon encounter held a single pattern. Walk as far as possible before breaking for lunch or dinner. Fight monsters here and there. Rest for a few hours, and keep walking. It was very monotonous. But there wasn't really anything to be done about it, they were walking a dangerous mountain path. Luna wasn't willing to risk falling over the edge by playing a game, and even Josh did his best to stay in line. Although, after a day or two, he had started practicing magic as they walked, always focusing his target several feet ahead of them. He was getting really good with magic and had moved on from low-level spells to mid-level spells.

Luna wanted the chance to practice more with her own new powers, endowed by the crystal on her chest. But if she tried to do that, she would end up revealing her new wings to everyone. And that would probably only result in people yelling at her. The soldiers, while they followed Yuan's orders well enough, weren't very receptive of him, or even Josh. Because they were both different. She knew that a lot of them were wary of her as well. Though whether it was because of the crystal, or because she was so comfortable talking to Josh and Yuan, she couldn't say. It was most likely a combination of the two, but she still couldn't tell.

Instead, she settled with just practicing with her chakrams, using them as close-range blades. Almost like daggers, except that she ended up doing a lot more punching. Some of the soldiers actually helped her out with practice when Josh was busy using magic. Or whenever Yuan told her no, because he did that sometimes. Okay, that was a lie, he usually said no to practicing with her.

From here she could see that he was irritated about something, but she wasn't really curious enough right now to ask about it. She looked at her opponent, one of the younger soldiers, who was holding his sword in both hands. The boy charged at her, swinging his sword with as much force as he could muster. Luna jumped to the side away from the swinging blade and spun with her chakrams in hand. The boy dropped to the ground and slid a few feet to avoid her attack. She smiled and ran after him, the other soldiers watching their fight. As the boy got back to his feet, she lunged forward with a slashing motion. He just barely dodge by rolling out of the way. He got to his feet again shortly after that and slashed his sword along the ground.

"Demon Fang!" The boy yelled out as a wave of energy shot towards her.

Luna dodge the energy easily since it traveled in a straight line. She gripped her chakram tightly and ran forward again. "Ring Whirlwind!" She called out, feeling the mana leave her body to power her attack. She spun on the spot, clutching her weapons tightly to avoid losing them. The boy held up his sword to block, but it got knocked from his hands and he fell back to avoid the spinning blades. Luna knelt on his chest and held her chakram to his neck, a smile on her face as she panted heavily.

"You beat me again." The boy said, disappointed.

Luna brushed a few strands of her light brown hair behind her ear and got off him. "You're too slow." She replied. "And predictable." She added after a moment. She offered a hand to help him back to his feet, but he got up on his own.

"I guess. I'll work on that." He said to her with a smile.

Luna nodded and walked over to where Josh was sitting, looking down at the path below. "What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"Home." He answered. "I'm worried about the others too." He told her. "We've been here for over a week and no sign of Kaylee, Morgan, or Felicia. I'm just... worried about them." Josh said with a sigh.

Luna sat down next to him, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the path. She hadn't been focused on that as much and she felt guilty. Kaylee had been her best friend for a really long time, and she hadn't been worried about her for the past couple of days. She felt really selfish. "Yeah, but we'll find them eventually. We just have to keep looking." She said.

Josh sighed and stood up. "I guess." He said. "C'mon, it looks like we're moving on." He offered her a hand up.

Luna got up on her own, frowning at his attitude. Josh seemed really upset about something, but she couldn't tell what it might be. She followed along silently as they walked down the path. They had finally begun the descent from the mountains, and the path here was sloping down. It was steeper in some areas than in others, and she often needed to be extra careful.

At the end of the day they were making camp and Luna could see a forest in the valley below. She wanted to go exploring a little, but she didn't want to be alone. "What's got you so distracted now?" She heard Yuan ask suspiciously.

Luna turned to look at him. "Huh? I can see the forest from up here." She told him.

He walked away from the fire and looked over the edge. "What the hell are you looking at? I can't see a forest from here." He said after a moment of looking down.

Right, he didn't have angel senses the way she did. At least, he wasn't going to have them for a while anyway. Luna smiled as she shook her head. "I have really good eyesight." She said to him. "I can see a forest below us."

Yuan turned to stare at her before he shook his head and walked back to the fire. He didn't say anything about her lie though, she guessed she was getting better at her poker face. But she still felt bad about lying in the first place. There was a sort of pit in her stomach and it churned whenever she had to lie. Dammit, she wished she could tell the truth, but he wouldn't believe her.

She walked over to the fire, but turned away the food she was offered, which earned more suspicious stares. "You haven't been eating. Care to explain why?" Yuan asked her.

Luna sighed. "I've eaten, you just haven't seen me." She said in a defensive manner. Truthfully though, she couldn't stomach anything she tried to eat. She had learned that a couple nights ago when she tried to force herself. Her sense of taste was gone, and she had no appetite, it was like her body no longer needed the food. And when she forced herself, it only made her ill. She had gone for a walk that night and ended up throwing up her food again. Since then, she didn't bother to try.

"Uh-huh. Sure you have." Yuan said, rolling his eyes at her response. She doubted he'd been watching her that closely, he didn't seem very interested in her.

She chose not to respond to his sarcasm, and just stared into the fire for a little while. After a few minutes, the smell of food was making her ill. She wanted to be able to eat and taste the food. She wanted to be normal again, but she couldn't change the transformation that was taking place in her body. Finally, she stood up again.

"Where are you going?" Yuan asked, glaring up at her.

"For a walk." Luna said simply, walking away from the campsite. She kept going for a little while and when she was far enough away, she sat down on the path and closed her eyes. She brought her wings out of her back and decided to experiment with magic. Well, she should have the angel magic at least, right? She stood up and flapped her wings a little to get used to them. They lifted her from the ground a couple of inches as she closed her eyes to focus. "Holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory." She chanted softly, gathering mana together to form the attack. "Angel Feathers!" She called out and watched in awe as a few mana feathers fell from her wings and flew forward. They crashed into each other in the air a few feet away and dissolved.

Luna smiled and let herself land back on the ground. "So that's what's going on with you!" She froze and turned around to look at Josh, who was staring at her wide-eyed. "Luna, why didn't you tell me?!" He asked, walking over to her.

She took an involuntary step backwards and frowned. "I-I'm sorry, Josh. I didn't want you to worry about me." She said to him, lowering her eyes to the ground.

She heard him sigh. "Dammit. I should have known this was happening to you. You lost your appetite that day the demon attacked us, didn't you?" He asked.

Luna nodded. "I thought I was going to die when it tried to attack me. I would be dead if that soldier hadn't protected me." She answered numbly.

"Damn. That near-death experience must have activated your crystal. So, you've been this way for a week. Let's hope you don't nearly die again in the near future. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you." Josh said, rubbing his temples.

She smiled at that a little. "I know, and I didn't want you to be worried. But, can you help me keep it a secret from Yuan? He's suspicious of me enough already. I don't want him knowing about this." She said.

Josh looked at her and then he shook his head with a sigh. "Yeah, sure. It's not like we've got anything better to do." He said absently.

* * *

"Just how far do we have to go to reach the damned mountain path again?!" Kaylee asked with a frustrated sigh.

Mithos looked over at her and frowned at her behavior. They had been traveling nonstop for the past few days since leaving the city to reach the mountain. They had to make it in time to be able to get the missive from the Sylvarant army about attacking the city. It was the only way they could prove to the king that they hadn't been lying. Both Kaylee and Kratos were human, but they weren't that bad, even if it was annoying how often the black-haired girl complained.

"We should reach the bottom of the path in another day or two." Kratos replied calmly.

Before they'd left the city, they had used some of their gald to buy new weapons. Mithos now had a short sword hanging from his hip and he was still getting used to the weight of it. He was far better at using magic, but he wanted to learn to use a sword. Besides, what if an enemy was too close or fast for him to use magic on it? He would need a weapon to defend himself if that situation ever arose. Kratos seemed disinterested though, so he hadn't bothered asking him to teach him to fight. Mostly, he just watched the way the swordsman moved and tried to copy the movements in his spare time.

Although, Morgan had given him a couple of pointers about stance and stuff like that. Mithos still didn't like using a sword much though, and usually ended up just using magic while Morgan, Kaylee and Kratos acted as the melee fighters. He had noticed though that Kratos had a lot of patience, and he never seemed to lose his cool. Well... almost never anyway. Still, he was a bit impressed with the older man, who still seemed as comfortable in their company as before. Sure, Kaylee wasn't bothered by them either, but still... he didn't like her as much. Mostly, he didn't like her attitude, even though she was a nice person. She was pretty much opposite of his sister, who was always nice to everyone and never got mad or angry.

Ever since they'd been kicked out of Heimdall he had needed her support, and she'd been with him. They'd been traveling together for months before they learned about the attack and headed for Meltokio. Then, with the monster attack they'd met Morgan and Kaylee and shortly after that, Kratos. Everything was happening a bit fast, but also not fast enough, it seemed. This whole war was pointless and he just wanted it to be over. Why couldn't people just get along?

"It feels like we've been walking forever! Can't we take a break?" Kaylee asked again, for the fifth time.

"No, if we don't hurry, we might not make it in time." Kratos was the first to answer again.

"But it's after noon and we haven't had lunch yet!" Kaylee argued, though without much effort.

Kratos sighed and stopped walking. "Fine, we'll stop here to eat, but as soon as we're done, we keep moving." He said.

"Yes!" Kaylee punched her fist in the air and walked over, sitting down on the ground with a happy smile.

Mithos watched as his sister pulled out their cooking supplies. Morgan had walked off a bit, and he lost sight of the crimson-haired half-elf until he came back with some kindling for a fire. He watched as Martel smiled and built a small fire to cook by. Mithos loved his sister's cooking, and she had taught him a few of her recipes. He wasn't as practiced as his sister, but he could at least cook without completely screwing things up.

A few minutes later, he was helping to hand out the food. Kratos took his and ate in relative silence, the way he usually did. Mithos suspected he was thinking about something, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask about it. Morgan was also pretty quiet, but he looked less lost-in-thought. Mithos helped himself to a serving and smiled as he ate, it was pretty quiet and at least Kaylee wasn't complaining anymore. Though that would probably end as soon as they were done eating. Still, it was nice to have a few minutes of blissful silence.

... They managed to reach the forest path leading to the mountains within a day. It had been tiresome, but Kaylee had stopped complaining, but only after Kratos lost his composure for a minute and threatened to remove her vocal chords. Since then she had been quiet except to ask questions about other things, but no more complaints. Mithos was happy about that at least. They were stopping to gather firewood and he was following Kaylee and Morgan. Well, sort of, he was kind of going off on his own a little bit.

He didn't realize he'd gotten too far away until he heard the sounds of fighting ahead. Mithos paused and looked around, but there weren't any monsters around, and it sounded like two people were fighting. Quietly, he put down the wood he'd collected and moved forward, being careful not to make any noise. After a minute, he found the clearing where the sounds were coming from.

A girl was fighting against a guy back here. She had long light brown hair and beautiful light blue eyes. She was wearing a white and blue dress and was fighting with what looked to be bladed rings. The guy she was fighting had short blond hair and was dressed in a strange pink outfit. Mithos noticed the guy's ears and realized he was an elf, and the girl was human. Were they from the different sides of the war, or were they just practicing?

The girl jumped away from an attack and changed her stance slightly, holding the blades at her sides. A moment later, pale blue wings spread from her back as white light danced at her feet. Mithos realized she was charging a spell and was surprised. A human... using magic? "Angel Feathers!" She called out as glowing feathers fell from her wings and flew at her opponent. He was actually pretty impressed, but still confused. Was she an angel? She had wings, so she had to be an angel, right? Was that why she could use magic? And why were these two fighting? The elf dodged the attack, though barely and started using a spell as well. Mithos grit his teeth, not wanting to see the girl get hurt.

Without thinking, he ran forward to block the attack and save her, but she ended up pulling him out of the way. They fell to the ground, Mithos feeling very surprised by just how fast and strong she was. She looked similarly surprised and was looking at him, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked, her voice soft, sweet, and... and cute!

Mithos blushed slightly as he sat up and nodded. "Yeah... I'm fine." He said.

The girl smiled and his cheeks burned brighter. "Oh, good. I'm glad you're alright." She said as she stood up, brushing the dirt from her clothes. Even with that, there was still a slight dirt stain on her white dress.

Mithos stood up and smiled at her, not sure why he was happy that she was happy. "Uhh, yeah." He managed to choke out. Why... why was he so nervous? She looked about his age, maybe a year or two older.

"What are you doing around here?" He heard the male ask and Mithos turned to glare at the elf.

"Why were you fighting her?!" He yelled at the guy.

The elf gave him a bemused look. "We were only practicing." He said. "Anyway, I'm Josh..." He said as he walked over, holding out a hand.

"I didn't ask for your name!" Mithos glared at him. He was an elf, and all elves were pretty much the same, thinking they were so superior over everyone else. He reached for his sword, ready to fight if he needed to.

Josh sighed. "There's no need for that. I'm not your enemy and I have no intention of fighting you." He said.

He sounded sincere, but Mithos wasn't sure he could trust the elf. He watched as the angel walked over to the guy though. They really weren't enemies. Mithos frowned and lowered his arms. "I'm Mithos." He said simply.

The girl smiled. "My name is Luna. It's nice to meet you, Mithos." She said.

"Ah, uh... It's nice to meet you too..." Mithos said, struggling to get the words out. He managed to say what he wanted to, but, really, why was he so nervous?

"So, why are you in this forest?" She asked.

"I was, uh... looking for firewood." He answered honestly. He really shouldn't have told them, but she was so cute.

"Oh? Are you traveling with someone?" Luna asked, her head tilting to the side slightly.

"Yeah, we made camp in the woods a little ways that way." He said, but didn't actually point the way. What if these two were enemies? They didn't seem like it, more like travelers as well.

He was trying to think of something to do or say when he heard... _her_... calling for him. "Mithos!"

Luna's eyes widened a bit and she turned her head in the direction the call came from. "Josh, I just heard Kaylee." She said, her voice full of wonder.

Josh looked at her. "Are you sure you aren't imagining things?" He asked.

"MITHOS!" Morgan's voice yelled from the same direction. Dammit, they were looking for him already. He hadn't been gone that long, had he?

"That was Morgan." Josh said, his voice held the same awed tone.

Mithos paused and then looked at them, suddenly more confused. "Do you two know Morgan and Kaylee?" He asked.

Luna smiled brightly. "Of course. Kaylee is my best friend in the whole world." She said happily.

Best friends? Mithos looked in the direction the voices were coming from and smiled. "Well, maybe you guys should be reunited, right?" He asked.

Luna giggled and smiled at that. "You'd really help us with that? I've been worried sick about her for the past week." She said. "Could you take us to them?"

Mithos blushed again and nodded. "Y-yeah, sure." He replied and started walking back to where he'd left the wood. On their way back to camp, Luna and Josh talked excitedly, and finally they came into sight of the camp. Morgan and Kaylee jumped to their feet immediately, as well as Kratos, hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case.

"Mithos... who are these people with you?" His sister asked, the only one still sitting on the ground calmly.

"LUNA! JOSH!" Kaylee exclaimed and rushed over to hug the two of them. Luna hugged the black-haired girl back, a big smile lighting up her face. "We've been worried about you." She said.

Luna laughed. "Yeah, we've been worried too." She said. Mithos noticed she had put her wings away and wondered briefly how they worked. Luna turned to look at Kratos, Martel and him. "I'm sorry if this is confusing. My name is Luna and this is Josh." She said pointing to the elf. "We're friends of Morgan and Kaylee."

Martel smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you both then." She said as she stood up and walked over to shake both their hands. "How do you four know each other?"

"Kaylee and I have been friends since we were little." Luna answered. "The four of us got separated."

"That's so sad, but at least you've found each other again, right?" Martel asked with a smile.

Mithos smiled as Luna nodded. "Would you care to stay for dinner?" Martel asked. "I'm sure I could make enough for two more."

"One more." Luna replied. "I ate earlier so I'm not hungry. But we'd love to stay and talk, right Josh?" She asked.

Josh nodded his reply. "Yeah, and unlike Luna, I'm starving." He said.

"Well then, please feel free to join us." Martel moved back to the fire and started cooking.

Josh and Luna sat down and started talking to Kaylee and Morgan. They clearly needed to catch up since they'd been separated. Mithos noticed that Kratos had relaxed some, but still looked a tad suspicious of the new pair. Mithos frowned at that, Luna seemed really trustworthy, and she was an angel too, so... so she was good, right?

* * *

"Okay, so why exactly are we doing this again?" Josh asked in a hushed whisper a couple hours later. Everyone in the Sylvarant camp had fallen asleep hours ago when the two of them offered to take the first night watch.

"You heard Kaylee. They need to bring the missive to the king so they can evacuate the city before the attack." Luna replied in an equally hushed tone.

Josh looked over at Yuan's sleeping form, certain the half-elf wasn't really asleep. He sighed softly and nodded. "Alright, but know that I don't like this one bit." He said softly.

Luna just nodded at him as she quietly grabbed Yuan's bag. He was the leader so he probably had the missive somewhere on his person or in his bag. It would be awful if he gave it to someone else and they ended up losing it, right? And it wasn't like he could readily trust his men to look after it and not get him in trouble. She handed the bag to Josh who opened it and began searching through it. He was trying to be as quiet as possible, but when Luna hushed him he realized just how sharp her hearing was now.

Josh frowned slightly and started trying to be even quieter while he watched Luna check Yuan. She was being super careful not to wake him. He hoped the guy was really fast asleep otherwise it would be awkward if he got up to see what they were doing. After another moment or two, Josh found something promising in the bag and pulled it out. It was a rolled up scroll so he opened it and, sure enough, it was what they were looking for.

"Luna!" He exclaimed in a whisper, trying to be very quiet.

Her head shot up and she moved away from Yuan slowly and came over to him. "I've got it. Now let's get it to them before someone wakes up." He said.

Luna shook her head. "One of us has to stay here to keep watch. And since I can fly, I should bring it to them." She said softly. "I'll be there and back before you know it." She said with a smile.

He frowned, but she was right. She would be far faster than him since she wasn't restricted to running on the ground. He handed her the scroll and she pulled out her wings and flew off. As she flew out of sight, he heard movement and Josh turned to look and saw Yuan sitting up, glaring at him. "I knew it was wrong to trust you." Yuan said in a dark tone.

Josh felt a chill run down his spine and he jumped to his feet and ran before the half-elf could properly react. Though, a few minutes later he could hear Yuan chasing after him. He probably had to wake someone to keep watch before the chase, so he at least had a lead. Still, Yuan was damn fast so he didn't have long before the blue-haired man caught up. He hoped he'd be able to reach the group before he had to do any fighting because it would suck to fight Yuan alone here.

"Lightning!" Josh barely managed to dodge the bolt. It had been aimed at his head though. Damn, Yuan was serious. Well, even if he had to fight and die here, at least Luna could get the missive to them. If they could help save the city, that was better than nothing. Still, he _really_ didn't want to die.

Nearly a half hour later, he could see them up ahead. Yuan was still chasing him. Man, he was determined. "LUNA!" Josh called out at the top of his lungs, hoping to catch her attention, as well as the others. He could hear them draw weapons from here.

"Ring Whirlwind!" Luna called out as she came diving out of the sky. Yuan had to jump back to avoid being cut up by the blades as she spun. He looked confused by the wings on her back, though recovered fast enough to run forward and attack.

Although, this attack was intercepted by Kratos who had been first to run over to help. "You!" He heard Yuan hiss at the Knight.

Kratos gave no response and pushed back with all his might. Yuan jumped back and spun around, swinging his blade to attack. Kratos easily parried again, eyes narrowed in concentration as they fought. It was then that Martel, Mithos and Morgan ran over with Kaylee lagging behind a little. Josh watched the fight in awe. The two fighters were... well, equal... in strength and skill. Where Kratos was serious and indifferent, Yuan was determined and enraged.

"STOP!" Martel screamed.

Both fighters jumped back and paused to look at her. Josh watched in awe as she stepped between them, a stern look on her face. "I realize you are enemies, but we are trying to stop this war." She said firmly. "I can't stand by and watch you fight right in front of me." She turned to look at Yuan and Josh saw that he had lowered his blade to... stare at her. Huh, he kind of looked lovesick already. Well, even he had to admit that Martel was very beautiful. "Who are you?" She asked.

Yuan put his weapon away to cross his arms, trying to look indifferent. "I am Yuan Ka-Fai. Commander, First Division, Sylvarant Army." He stated seriously, though he sounded annoyed. "Who the hell are you?" He returned the question.

Martel frowned. "I would suggest you mind your mouth. There are children present." She replied coolly. "Anyway, I am Martel Yggdrasill, and this is my brother, Mithos." She said as the young half-elf joined her side, staring at Yuan. "These are my companions."

"Morgan." Josh looked over at his friend and smiled slightly.

"Kaylee Silva." Kaylee replied easily enough. She was standing in a relaxed stance, though she could fluidly move into a fighting stance. Josh had watched her practicing her martial arts skills once.

Kratos said nothing and looked away coolly as Yuan glared at him. He didn't seem to notice or mind that the half-elf was glaring at him so openly. "And it would seem you already know Kratos." Martel said.

"Hmph, you could say that." Yuan said testily. "We've only fought each other on the battlefield five times."

Kratos still said nothing and just looked over at Yuan, keeping a calm, serious expression on his face. This only seemed to flare Yuan's temper and his body language revealed that he was getting tense again. Martel cleared her throat and moved slightly between them, regaining his attention. "It's important that we have this to evacuate the city." She said, looking only at Yuan now. "Unless you can stop the attack, we can't just give it back."

Yuan frowned, crossing his arms again. "I don't have the authority to issue that command." He said.

"You're a Commander though. How do you not have the authority?" Kaylee asked.

"The missive is from the General. Unless I receive another one with alternate orders, I can't issue a command in direct opposition." He replied easily. It was clear from his tone that he wished that was otherwise. "I still need it back." He added, though not as fiercely as before.

Martel frowned. "Please, we're trying to stop this war." She said. "Would you rather be a name among thousands who helped fight this bloody war? Or would you rather be remembered as one of few heroes who helped stop a seemingly endless war?" She asked him.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times and stared at her. Finally, he sighed and turned away from them. "Just get out of here before I change my mind." He said.

Martel smiled warmly. "Thank you so much, Yuan." She said before turning to her companions. "Alright, you heard him. Let's get back to Meltokio as fast as possible." She said.

They all packed up what they could and left. Josh and Luna joined them. They probably wouldn't be welcome back at the Sylvarant camp anyway, not after what they had done by stealing the missive in the first place.

* * *

It... it felt weird and oddly good to have her speak his name. Yuan frowned and turned to watch them go, unsure. He didn't like that they were traveling with Kratos, but they were trying to do something good. A concept he had forgotten since joining the army. With a sigh, he turned and headed back towards his camp. His men would be wondering where he was, so he shouldn't stay away for too long. The missive was gone now, but they still had orders. Although... was it really the right thing to do? Razing an entire city to the ground seemed a bit extreme, now that he thought about it.

Dammit! Why was he questioning himself now? She wasn't really all that... even though she was absolutely gorgeous. Despite how he told himself he wasn't, he felt an attraction to her. The green-haired half-elf... Martel.

Yuan sighed and when he got back to his camp, he decided he would at least lead the troops to the city. If he deserted before then, he would be labelled a traitor and a coward. At least if he followed orders until then and left... argh! It was stupid, but he knew this war was pointless. He had to get out before he did something he could never take back... like... like killing innocent children... or something.

* * *

**And end of chapter... Yay? I keep hoping to have these finished before the due date, and as much as I am managing, I still need to work on writing these chapters a bit faster.. Dx**

**Also, in response to your last review, Shiary. I totally understand that, but even people with phobia's react differently to their fears. I actually know someone with a phobia, and I based Kaylee off of her. And besides, that's not the only time that the issue of her phobia is going to come up anyway. But thank you very much for the feedback. I will try to keep that in mind when I make the issue arise again later.**


	7. City on Fire, Hidden Escape Route

**I really need to be better at starting on time... .**

**Anyway, I do not own Tales of Symphonia. Only the OC's I choose to bring into the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 - City on Fire, Hidden Escape Route**

It took them less time to get back to the city than it took to head out to the pass. Well, that was because they had run most of the distance on the way back. Kaylee couldn't believe that they had managed to not only find the missive, but they found Luna and Josh as well. Of course, it had been a bit of a surprise to find out that Luna had wings. She knew what the meant, even if her best friend wasn't talking about it.

She wasn't sure what phase of the angel transformation Luna was at by now, but she guessed it was just the first one. After all, when they stopped to rest that night before they headed into the city, Luna was at least sleeping just fine. Kaylee had poked her to make sure she was really fast asleep, and she was. Of course, she had no idea how it was happening, but she suspected the crystal on her friend's neck. It looked real instead of fake now. Pretty much the same way all of their weapons had become real since getting pulled into this world.

She looked over at Josh, who was fast asleep by now as well. His ears were very long and pointy, so she guessed he was an elf now and not just a half-elf. This was seriously weird, but they hadn't found Felicia yet. What kind of weird transformation would they discover if they found her? Would she be a summon spirit? A dwarf? There was no knowing, but no doubt they would find out... if they could ever find her.

Kaylee had offered to stay up for the first shift in the night watch. There were monsters in this area, so they had to be careful. She sighed slightly and tended to the fire a bit before looking around for monsters. All was quiet right now so... so she was really bored. She had to be up for another hour or two before she could wake someone else up to take watch. Okay... night watch? Really boring. Kaylee wasn't really sure why she had volunteered to do this. She didn't think she was trying to prove anything. Maybe she wasn't the best fighter, but she could handle herself, and they had been doing alright.

She sighed and stood up, deciding that she couldn't handle doing this while sitting down. She had to stand and walk or she'd fall asleep and be of no use. So she walked around their perimeter, checking in all directions for monsters. Finally, after the two hours were up, she shook Kratos awake to take watch and settled in to sleep. She was actually really tired and kind of regretting her decision to help keep watch. As soon as she got comfortable on the ground, she fell asleep.

* * *

Kratos led the way through the streets of the city, knowing it could be like a maze sometimes. Plus, there were so many people wandering about the streets, it was kind of hard to get around. He took the group down side streets and alleys until they reached the stairs leading up to the castle level. He looked back and saw that Martel was clutching the missive tightly, as well as her staff. Mithos looked a little nervous as well. They hadn't exactly gotten the best reception the first time. He sighed and headed up the steps, knowing they would follow his lead.

They didn't have time to wait this time for the king to consider meeting with them. The Sylvarant Army was on it's way here, so they had little time to inform the king and try to evacuate the people of this city. That is, if the missive proved to be enough proof. There were so many different things that could happen in this situation.

Kratos approached the guards at the main doors and stood to his fullest height. "We seek an audience with His Majesty." He said with all the authority he could manage. It wasn't that hard, either, he was a Knight, and these guards knew him.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. His Majesty the King is currently in conference with General Aurion." One of the guards said, they had crossed their spears to prevent them from passing.

Kratos was taken aback. His father was here...? Why would he be back so soon? He sighed. "We don't have time to wait. I order you to stand down." He said this time.

The guards exchanged a look and frowned. "We can't-" The both began, but Kratos growled and glared at each of them.

"If the King or my father takes offense, I assure you it rests squarely on my shoulders. Neither of you will be punished for this. Now, stand aside and let us pass, or Origin help me, I will force my way in." He said darkly.

The two guards saluted and stepped to the side, looking a bit on edge that he had spoken to them that way. But, it had worked, and they were able to get inside.

"I felt certain for a moment there that we were going to get into a fight and arrested." Kaylee muttered aloud.

Kratos ignored her comment as he walked forward and pushed open the doors. There were more guards in the hallway beyond, but they didn't impede them any as they walked forward to the double doors leading to the throne room. Part of that was because Kratos was glaring at the guards on either side, and part of it was they were choosing not to question why they were let into the castle to begin with. Taking a deep breath, Kratos pushed open the second set of double doors and strode into the room, much to the shocked and horrified looks of the people within the throne room. Of course, there he was, Krytas Aurion, his father, the only person in the room who didn't look shocked or horrified, though he was glaring at his son. Clearly, this untimely interruption was viewed as a disappointment.

It bothered him to think that his father was disappointed in him, but time was of the essence if they were going to try and save the city. Kratos stepped forward and went to his knee, bowing his head before the king. He heard the others kneeling behind him, but didn't bother to look at them. "Your Majesty, please forgive my interruption, but we have returned with proof." He said, hoping it would be enough.

"It was mighty rude of you to interrupt our discussion, Kratos. But... if you have proof, bring it forward so I may see. If I find it decent enough, I may just excuse your behavior." The king said, looking at their group.

Kratos looked back and watched as Martel handed the missive to Luna instead of bringing it forward herself. The light-haired girl stood up and walked forward, handing the missive over while bowing her head respectfully. Hmm, perhaps it had been a better idea to have her hand it over. Though the girl was young, she was very polite and friendly, as he had observed during their flight back to the city. Her clothing clearly bespoke her as being Sylvaranti, but she possessed a noble nature much like anyone in this city might have, albeit, with a kinder, gentler heart.

There was a few minutes of tense silence after Luna returned to the others and resumed her kneeling. The king appeared to be looking over the missive carefully, even handing the document to his father, who also looked over the document. Kratos wasn't sure if there was anything else they could do but wait until they heard their judgement. His muscles were cramping a little from the continued kneeling, but he needed to remain humble, otherwise the king might not forgive their insolence in bursting in.

"I see. This document is clearly official. It describes orders for the First Division to lead a troop of soldiers through the mountains and attack the city directly." His father said finally in his deep, authoritative voice. He turned his eyes to his son. "When and where did you get this?" He asked.

"We traveled to the edge of the mountain pass a few days ago where we met Luna and Josh. They were traveling on their own and agreed to help us obtain the missive." Kratos began by explaining. This was mostly true, though Mithos was the one who had met the pair, they had agreed to help. "After obtaining the missive, we returned here as quickly as we could manage." He finished.

There was silence for another minute or so.

"So we have little time in which to evacuate the city." The king replied finally.

Kratos lifted his head to look at him, seeing the man looked thoughtful, and not at all upset by their bringing this news. He felt as though a weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't dare speak though, for fear it might ruin the king's decision.

"What do you think, General?" The king asked, looking to his father for an answer.

Krytas closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Obviously, the women and children should be among the first to evacuate. The soldiers and guards remaining should help to defend the city." He said after a silence. "But with the people evacuating, we should send some guards to protect them until they reach safety."

The king nodded slowly as he thought that over. "Yes... that sounds like an ideal plan." He turned to face Kratos and the group behind him. "Your behavior, while unacceptable, is excused. With this information, you have performed a great service that may save the lives of many of our people." He said to them.

Kratos bowed his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty." His thanks was echoed by the others as well.

But their relief didn't last very long when a guard burst into the room to interrupt them. "Y-your Majesty! The city! It's... it's on fire!" He exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Kratos shouted at the same time as everyone else in the room. This couldn't be happening, for the Sylvaranti to catch up to them so quickly, they must have rushed to the city and taken very few breaks to get here. This was... not good.

* * *

Of course, one of his soldiers had to ask where Luna and Josh had gone off to. As much as he felt he should cover for them and lie, he knew that wouldn't go over well when the truth was discovered. Besides, it wasn't really like him to lie so blatantly, her preferred to speak his mind and tell the truth. Not that he talked about himself or his feelings or anything, but if someone asked him his opinion, then Origin damn it, he was going to be honest and tell them what he thought.

So although it would be better for the group running to the aid of the city, he wasn't going to lie and cover for them. Yuan told his troops the truth, about how Luna and Josh betrayed them and stole the missive in the middle of the night to warn the people of the city. He left out the encounter with Kratos and the group. That wasn't really need-to-know information. No one had asked exactly how they managed to escape from him, and had obeyed readily when he suggested increasing their pace.

A small group as theirs would try to make good time, but they weren't military trained to march without resting. As much as this would only cause problems later, he needed to keep up appearances until he could get away from his division. This was a big pain. He didn't really want to leave the army, he was a Commander, so he had some authority, but... a part of him knew that Martel was right. He didn't really want to keep doing this.

They reached the city in record time. He couldn't really tell whether or not they had made it here ahead of them, but that didn't really matter too much. What mattered at the moment was following orders. He issued the command and the archers came forward, drawing their arrows, which were lit by a torch and sent flying into the midst of the city. Many of the homes were built close together, and each house was raised a little above the other, so the flames would catch and burn quickly. It would easily turn into an inferno.

After the arrows were loosed, the ground troop marched ahead into the city, fighting the guards and some slaughtering the Tethe'allan citizens as they ran about trying to escape the flames. Yuan watched, horror struck, as one of his men mercilessly killed a small child. Why? The girl hadn't done anything but be born in this city. She could have been taken captive. He clenched his hands as he walked into the city, looking left and right, not really wanting to be part of the fighting. He wanted to see if they were here.

"Yuan!" He heard the voice and he drew his weapon from his back, looking up. Standing high on the steps before him was Kratos, sword drawn, a dark look on his face.

Yuan narrowed his eyes as he gripped his weapon. "So we meet again. Too bad it's not on our usual battlefield." He drawled, his heart wasn't really in this. He would fight the Knight if he had to, but he was already hating himself for leading his men to this city. For bringing about the slaughter of these people.

Kratos gave no reply as he stepped forward and then charged with his weapon. Yuan parried the blow easily with his own sword. Yes, he had two weapons. He had a finely crafted sword, his mark of office as a Commander in the army, and his Swallow. That dual-blade was actually a family heirloom, and had belonged to his brother before he died. The two of them faced off for a bit and Yuan glanced over briefly to see Martel, and the others watching them fight. He grit his teeth and pushed. They both jumped apart at the same time, Kratos' expression had returned to one of indifference, though there was fire in the man's eyes. That irritated him more than anything else. Why the hell was this human so good at concealing his emotions? Why was he so indifferent?

Every single time he had fought the Knight, his indifferent attitude only served to anger him. Yuan scoffed slightly and adjusted his fighting stance.

"Kratos, we don't have time for this!" Martel called out, coming down the steps a bit. "We need to help the people of this city." She said.

Kratos relaxed his stance slightly, but never took his eyes off of him. "There is no hope for the city. Our best chance is simply to get out of here alive." He said in a dull voice. He clearly didn't enjoy the idea of running away. Yuan couldn't blame him.

"But-" Martel started and then she frowned. "I understand. If we're to stop the war, we have to do it ourselves. And we can't do that if we die here." She said.

"Sis!" Mithos walked over to her, horrified that she was willing to abandon the city, no doubt.

"There's no choice, Mithos." She said, frowning. She looked at him, her eyes pleading and filled with sorrow. "I hope your choice was worth it, Yuan." She said as she turned and started to walk away.

"We'll have to hurry before the soldiers reach the castle. There's only one escape route we can use at this point." Kratos was explaining as he followed.

Yuan felt like a knife had been driven into his gut and twisted. He wasn't sure why her opinion mattered to him at all, but her words burned him. She was upset that he had chosen to bring destruction to the city. Honestly, he was upset with himself for his choice. He let them walk away, not bothering to give chase. There was nothing he could do for them at this point, and he knew he had to get out of the city himself. If he could sever all ties with the army and get away, maybe he could join them later.

It sounded like a good plan. Yuan sheathed his weapon and hurried back the way he'd come, lightly stepping over the fallen bodies and avoiding the falling debris. Smoke filled the air and he had to cover his nose after a while or face suffocating. Finally, he reached the edge of the city and while no one was watching... he left.

* * *

"So, where exactly are we going?" Morgan asked as they walked quickly back to the castle.

Kratos was leading the way and Luna was curious about where they were going. It seemed this escape route would take them through the castle and she was actually pretty interested in finding it. She was upset and angry that the city was being burned and the people slaughtered, but there was little they could do if they wanted to make it out of here alive. She really hated this helpless feeling, and wished she could do more to help.

As it stood, the city was burning, people were being killed, and all they were doing was heading for this hidden escape route. Kratos led them into the castle, and down a few hallways. When they found a set of stairs, he led them down into the dungeon area. The place was abandoned, no one was focused on guarding prisoners while there was so much chaos going on outside in the city. Luna watched patiently as Kratos walked over to the back wall and tapped on it a bit. He had his ear pressed to the wall, probably listening for the right sound. Finally, he pulled back and firmly pressed a spot on the wall.

At first, nothing happened. But after a few tense seconds, the wall opened up before them, swinging inward on silent, hidden hinges. "We'll have to hurry." Kratos said, looking back at them.

Morgan nodded and chose to take the lead, followed shortly by Kaylee, Martel and Mithos. Luna followed after Josh and Kratos was the last to enter the hidden tunnel. He turned and pushed the wall until it clicked back into place, hiding the entrance to the tunnel once more. It became very dark with the wall closed and Luna rubbed her arms, it was also really cold in here. As if by magic, and it probably was, torches lit up all along the walls. Well, technically they weren't really torches, there was no flame or heat, just light. They were pretty curious, and probably magi-tech lights.

Kratos walked ahead to the front of the group and began leading the way. "Where does this lead?" Luna asked, wanting to have something to do while they walked.

"The exit is in a temple at the base of the Fooji Mountain." Kratos answered, not looking back at her. He was focused on leading the way, it seemed.

Briefly, she wondered if there were any monsters living in this tunnel. There might be. It was a possibility anyway, but she was cold. She rubbed her arms a bit more and tried to keep up with the others. The tunnel was pretty straightforward, with only a few random passageways off to the side here and there. Kratos was pretty sure of the way and hadn't gotten them lost so far, so that was a good sign.

Several hours later though, everyone was getting tired and Kratos looked back. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We should be far enough away for now. We'll take a break here." He said.

Luna was grateful to have the chance to rest, but her teeth were chattering. Walking for so long had warmed her only so much, and now that they were stopping, the cold was setting in again. She sat down and watched as Martel set up wood for a fire, that Mithos lit with magic to keep them warm. Of course, it went further than that as they started cooking. Luna crinkled her nose at the smell as they cooked. It smelled so good, and she knew she couldn't eat any of it. She closed her eyes and sat leaning against the tunnel wall, deciding that she'd rather sleep than be awake while everyone ate. She was more grateful for the warmth of the fire than for the smell of the food. Still, there wasn't all that much to complain about.

An hour after that, when everyone else was done eating, Luna opened her eyes and stretched a bit. It could still be daylight out, or dark by now, but they had a ways to go, and they couldn't just sit around and wait. Sure, it would be nice to rest for more than an hour, but if the soldiers found the entrance to this tunnel, then they wouldn't have very long before they were found. She'd rather keep going while she was still capable of going. Kratos was apparently in possession of the same thought as he stood and they all got up to start walking again.

They only stopped to rest for the night when all of them were far too tired to keep moving, let alone keep moving with their eyes open. Kratos was tired as well, but he assigned Josh to keep a watch for the rear, the way they had come from, while he watched ahead for monsters. With that settled, Luna let herself relax and go to sleep.

* * *

The following day, or maybe it was only a few hours later that night, or morning. It was really hard to tell without an actual sky overhead. Morgan didn't realize just how much he'd relied on having a clock for the time. He was really wishing he had one now to look at and check the time. Either way, they were up and moving again. Kratos had woken him and Martel a few hours ago to act as the second watch while he and Josh got some rest. Anyway, they were on the move again, and Morgan was really wishing her could blast a hole in the tunnel and crawl out to see the sky. He had magic, but doubted any of the spells he knew would be powerful enough to do what he was thinking of. That, and collapsing the tunnel just so he could see the sky probably wasn't the best idea. He had no idea exactly how far underground they were anyway.

Hell, if he tried to collapse the tunnel, he'd most likely only end up burying their group. And that wasn't something he wanted to do. Nope, he'd rather continue to live, thank you very much. Well, they were on their way again at this point. They were well-rested for the most part, and everyone agreed that the next time they stopped to sleep, different members would take the night watch. Kaylee would take first watch with Kratos while Luna and Mithos would take the second watch. All of them would be taking turns until they reached the end of the tunnel.

It was a pretty uneventful day/night. It was still hard to say which was which right now. They still didn't run into any monsters, and there weren't any sounds of footsteps apart from their own. They walked most of the time, pausing here and there to listen. They rested once or twice to eat, and then after everyone was too tired to move on, they would stop to rest for the next day/night. Mostly, it would probably just be for a few hours, but it was still rest. Nothing to complain about.

The next couple of days and nights followed this pattern; walk, stop and listen, walk, rest and eat, walk, rest and eat while listening, walk some more, and finally rest for the next couple of hours. It was pretty monotonous. It grew boring, and by the fourth or fifth day, he couldn't really tell, he felt like he was going to go insane or something. No one was talking still, and he was actually getting pretty irritated by how damned quiet it was. But he didn't want to be the one to break the silence in case he alerted any possible pursuers or monsters to their presence. The others seemed to understand the need for silence as well, and that was probably why they were all so quiet. Plus, after watching the city burn, it was hard to think of anything cheery to talk about.

They had gotten up to walk again a few hours ago, Kratos in the lead while Morgan walked at the back of the group. He wasn't really paying attention anymore, he was trying not to let the silence bother him.

"The exit should be up ahead." He heard Kratos say.

Morgan looked up to the head of the group, surprised, but also elated that they would finally be leaving this damned tunnel. He was tired of the silence, and also really tired of seeing nothing but rock all around him. He was just glad he wasn't claustrophobic or anything, otherwise this whole trip would have been far more uncomfortable.

"Really?!" Kaylee exclaimed, forgetting about being quiet. "It's about bloody time! I'm getting sick of this tunnel." She said.

Well, there was one voiced complaint about the tunnel. Morgan agreed with her a bit. He would be happy to get out of here and see natural light and breathe fresh air again.

"It will be nice to get out of here." Luna said softly.

A few minutes later they came to what seemed like a dead end. Only, there was a chain with a circular handle on it hanging from a niche in the rock wall. Kratos reached forward and pulled it. Within moments, the wall in front of them split apart and moved aside for them, revealing a large storage room. There was plenty of space between the boxes here to escape the tunnel. Once again, Kratos left the tunnel first, followed by the others. Morgan was last, and he watched as Kratos pushed a knot on the wall, thus closing the door on this side. The tunnel disappeared as though it had never existed in the first place.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief now that they were safe. Of course, that relief didn't last too long as the door to the storage room suddenly burst open and light filtered into the room. Morgan and Kratos had both instantly reached for their weapons just in case.

A priest stepped around the boxes and jumped back when he saw them. Clearly, he was as startled to find them as they were to be found. "You... did you just come through the tunnel?" He asked in awe.

Kratos stepped forward and the priest paused to look at him. "You're... Kratos Aurion. A Knight of Meltokio..." The priest said and then looked at their group. "So you are the only survivors." He said after a moment. "Please, follow me. I'll find some rooms for you to rest for the night." He said and began walking from the room.

"Should we trust him?" Morgan asked, relaxing his stance a little bit. He was still on edge though.

Kratos sighed. "Right now we have little choice. It seems the temple hasn't been attacked. And they might not suffer an attack anyway. Besides, we all need to get some decent rest." He said and followed the priest from the room.

Morgan frowned, still unsure, but the others were already following now as well. He sighed and followed after everyone. He didn't really like having to put trust in the priests of this temple, but Kratos was right too. They all needed better rest, and for now this place was probably safe. Unless the soldiers had found the tunnel and were on their way here now; it would be some time before this temple was connected with any possible survivors from Meltokio.

"We could see the smoke of the fires from here." The priest was telling them as they followed. "We feared for the people and prayed to Origin that someone might make it out alive. My Undine put out the fires soon. They're still burning in the city, but I don't think anyone is left alive there." He said.

Everyone was deadly quiet after the news. The entire city... burned, destroyed, and slaughtered. And they hadn't been able to do a thing to stop it. Not if they had wanted to get out of there alive. Even with Kratos' skill as a knight, they might not have made it out alive at all if it weren't for that secret escape route. Fighting their way out wouldn't have been an option. Still, this was seriously screwed up.

Finally, they stopped in a hallways with a few doors on either side. "We have two empty rooms right now. The men can stay in this room, and the women can have the other. I pray you all rest well, and take as long as you like to rest here. I will set up guards at the tunnel entrance just in case anyone was following you from that way." The priest bowed to them and left.

When he was gone, Kaylee, Luna and Martel said good night to them and went into their room. Mithos didn't seem too keen on sharing a room with them away from his sister, but didn't voice any complaints at least. Morgan walked into the room and nearly ran over to the bed in the room. The past four or five days they'd spent sleeping on a hard rocky surface. He really missed sleeping in a bed. But, Josh was way ahead of him and rushed over to one of the beds only to collapse on it and fall fast asleep. Morgan shook his head and walked over to another bed. He carefully unbuckled his sword belt and laid it next to his bed before letting himself lay down and sleep. He looked over and saw that Kratos did the same, and Mithos as well before either of them got any rest.

Morgan closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of the soft bed beneath him. It was a bit lumpy, but it was still better than the tunnel floor. And before he knew it, he fell asleep.

* * *

**And on that note... that is the end of this chapter.**

**Also, is anyone wondering what ever happened to Felicia? I bet you're wondering now that I've brought it up... xD**

**In other news.. I have lost almost all motivation for fanfiction writing. I will be working on the next chapter for this and other stories as much as possible... but I can't guarantee to get any of them updated within a decent time limit. For this, I am sorry, but I seem to have hit a writer's block... anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**


	8. Evil is Afoot

**Oh, my GOD! I am really sorry about the delay on this. Although, this hasn't been a very popular story, I still want to get this out there. I still need to apologize for the delay, there were a lot of issues that came up during the writing process. But, I'm going to upload it now and I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Evil is Afoot**

"Argh, Origin damn it all!" Yuan cried out as he killed the last monster attacking him. He'd been on his own since leaving the burning city behind. And there had been non stop monster attacks. It was growing ever more irksome. He still had plenty of mana left for magical attacks, but this was really irritating. The monsters often knew better than to approach large groups of people, unless those people were merchants and farmers. On his own, it seemed like every monster felt he would be an easy challenge. That is, until he killed them.

"Fucking, bloody monsters. Come and get me you bastards!" He yelled into the forest around him. He was panting slightly at this point, the exertion from all the fighting was getting to him. Nothing else charged out of the brush at him, something for which he was profoundly grateful. "Finally realize I'm not worth it, huh?" He asked aloud. Naturally, there was no reply. If he'd gotten one, that would have been odd.

Yuan sheathed his blade and continued walking, wishing he knew more than just lightning-based magic. He was suddenly wishing he had that doctor with him. At least the man was competent enough to heal minor wounds. He didn't bother to look and see how many cuts and bruises he had now, knowing the number wouldn't do him any good but to make him think about them. And thinking about them only seemed to make them hurt worse.

It bothered him to no end that she had gotten to him again. Just by speaking his name in that accusing tone. It was bad enough he felt bad about his decision on his own, he didn't need her approval or disapproval of his choices. But the way she'd been upset bothered him far more than he cared to think about. Why he cared about her opinion of him was a complete mystery. He didn't care what others thought of him, and hadn't cared since he joined the army. But Martel was different for some reason. For some reason he simply couldn't fathom, he cared about her opinion, and knowing that she detested his decision... it made him hate himself more.

Yuan sighed audibly as he reached the edge of the forest. The road here led into a small town, and it was a few days away from Meltokio. He'd never known there was a village here, it wasn't marked on the map, but it clearly wasn't hidden away either. It was just a small village no one bothered to count as a place on the map. There were hundreds more like it throughout the world. He checked his weapon before setting out for the village.

An hour later, as he walked into the village, he noticed it was very quiet here. Only a few people were out on the streets, and those that were seemed to be avoiding him. He never bothered to hide his ears anymore, usually because if people didn't know what you were on first sight, it only served to make them more suspicious of you. He steeled himself for a possible encounter as he walked, but no one confronted him. They were likely too afraid to approach him. He could tell from the atmosphere that he wouldn't find a welcome reception at the Inn here. Mostly, he just needed to buy some supplies, gels and items, and he'd be able to leave this place behind. It would be far safer for him to rest elsewhere.

A few minutes later he found the item shop and walked inside. The man behind the counter glared at him as he walked forward. Yuan ignored the man's dark glare and bought the gels he needed. Thankfully, the man didn't turn him away just because he was a half-elf, but he wouldn't stop glaring, and it irritated Yuan to no end. He really hated it when people stared at him and glared just because he wasn't human or elf. Why the hell should his race matter to anyone?! It wasn't like he was going around slaughtering people left and right for no reason.

After concluding his business, he stepped out of the item shop and headed for the other exit from the small village. Some people stepped out of their homes to watch him go. Some held clubs, others pitchforks, and a rare few had swords and spears, albeit very simple, flimsy ones at that. Still, it showed him just how tense and unwelcome this village was. Well, he didn't care what they thought, he had brought some business to their dinky little village, they should be grateful he'd needed the gels and had stopped here of all places. Stupid humans, they were so damned hateful. Well, he really wasn't all that much better than them in that regard, but still, he wasn't suspicious of every single human he met the way humans were suspicious of half-elves.

Argh, all this discriminating was nothing but a load of fucking bullshit! People shouldn't be focused on something as simple and unnecessary as it when there were other things to worry about! What other things there were he didn't really know, it wasn't something he really thought about. He was willing to bet that Martel knew what was more important... He frowned at his line of thinking. Here he was, thinking about her again, when he barely knew anything about her and knew he shouldn't care about her opinion. Yuan groaned mentally as he walked, he kept losing track of his thoughts lately, ever since he met her. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, but that didn't really help, so he just pushed the issue to the back of his mind. He didn't have time to worry about that.

Several hours later, after more random monster battles, Yuan discovered a little hamlet by the crossroads. A few small children were running around playing. They stopped to look at him and smiled, waving at him before they resumed playing.

"You look like you could use a decent rest." A voice said from a little off to the side.

Yuan turned to look and saw an older woman, her pale purple hair tied into a messy bun on top of her head. She was smiling warmly and looked from him to the playing children and back again. "You've been traveling for some time, haven't you?" She asked.

"I've been traveling for the past few days." He answered honestly, not sure what to expect. But he soon noticed the woman's slightly pointed ears. She was a half-elf.

"I hope you weren't a part of that raid. We could see the smoke from here. That was Meltokio, wasn't it?" She asked.

Yuan just nodded, not sure what to say. He couldn't really explain that he'd led the attack now could he? She was a half-elf, but she had been raised on this side. Right now, he was technically in enemy territory... until he could sever all ties with the Sylvarant Army that is.

"I see. That's what I thought." She said sadly. "I had a cousin who was working for one of the nobles there." She sighed and then looked at him kindly. "Dinner is almost ready. You're welcome to come in and rest for the night." She offered.

He was exhausted, though he wasn't the type to readily admit that to anyone. He had been traveling for days on end since the attack, catching sleep very rarely, and only for a couple of hours at a time at best. Yuan nodded. "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on that offer." He said politely, bowing his head to her.

The woman smiled and nodded. "Alright, come inside and I'll show you the room you can use." She said before walking back inside the house.

Yuan glanced over at the children playing before following inside. The room she showed him was really small and bare, but it would do. He was rather looking forward to a decent meal and a good night's rest. Though that would end as soon as he left to continue traveling the following morning, but still, this was far better than nothing.

* * *

Kratos was probably bothered by the burning of Meltokio far more than any of them. The city had been his home, where he'd grown up, and they hadn't found any trace of his mother as they made their escape. She knew he was probably far more upset than he was letting on, but he was trying to be strong. Martel couldn't help but feel sad about it. They had set out for the mountain path in the hopes that they could prevent the very thing that had occurred. She found it hard to believe that the blue-haired man, Yuan, had still led his troops to the city, following after them. She had hoped he understood their plight, after all, he had let them go that night. But he had still followed his orders, and that made her sad.

Martel sighed as she looked out the window at the field beyond the temple wall. There hadn't been much of anything to look at the past couple days, and so far there had been no signs of pursuit from the tunnel. They were safe for now, but they needed to figure out where to go from here. Kratos, Morgan and Josh were looking over the maps to try and find a place to head to next. She didn't really care exactly where they were headed, so long as they were accepted, or if they could make some headway in stopping the war, that would be good enough for her. To think that they had been so close to saving Meltokio only to have that chance ripped from their hands... it was maddening. Not that she felt particularly mad or angry about it, just upset.

If they had been stronger, they might have been able to save some of the citizens. She closed her eyes as she tried to think, trying not to remember the city in flames.

"You look worried." Luna spoke up walking over.

Martel was a tad startled at the girl's appearance, she hadn't even heard her walk back into the room. She turned around and smiled at her. "I am a little worried, and that's what worries me the most." She answered.

Luna sat down on one of the beds. "Everything will be fine. We just need to figure out where to go and what to do now." Luna said, glancing at the window as well.

Martel let herself smile a little. "Yes, but it also worries me that we don't know where to start." She sighed. "Of course, if we had all the answers to begin with, we wouldn't be here now." She said as she looked out the window.

"Exactly. We don't know what's going to happen, so we have to try and plan ahead, and be prepared for anything that could go wrong. If we think about the past, it only brings us down, and worrying about a future that's yet to be written doesn't help too much either." Luna told her.

Martel paused and looked at the young girl. "You're awfully wise for someone so young." She said, but she smiled. "Thank you, Luna." She nodded at the girl.

Luna smiled in response. "Anytime. Also, Mithos said he was going to cook lunch today. Should I come back when it's ready?" She asked.

Martel nodded silently, she really wanted to have a little more time to herself. Luna got up quietly and left the room, closing the door as quietly as when she had entered. Martel closed her eyes and thought back. She wasn't trying to think of him, but he popped into her head again. He had let them get away in the city, the same way he let them get away that night in the forest. She was starting to wonder about Yuan's motivations, was he really just following orders? Was he trying to break free? She couldn't tell, and she wondered if they would see him again. If he stayed with the army, then she hoped not, but somehow she felt he would appear again, the only questions were... where and when?

* * *

"Oof!" He grunted for the seventeenth time as he was tossed back by the attack. Loki got back to his feet and glared in the direction of his opponent, having expected her to move after him and attack relentlessly. Nope, she hadn't moved an inch. In fact, she was standing there motionless as if nothing had happened at all a second ago, her eyes staring blankly ahead of her, not even looking at him. He growled and picked up his broadsword and swung it till it was leaning against his shoulder. This girl was incredibly tough, and completely emotionless. Why had they suggested her as an opponent for him? So he could get better? Or was it to test her? He was starting to guess it was the latter.

For the past few days he had been unable to find a single break in her defense. Though she stood calmly, peacefully, every point was guarded, especially when he got close. No matter what he tried to do to break her guard, she always managed to defend herself. Loki paused and tried to think about what he was told about her, that she had come from another continent and offered herself up as a test subject in order to pay a family debt. Somehow, he doubted that story were Lady Morcana was involved. That woman often didn't care whether or not the person had volunteered, or been captured. It was more likely they found her injured and took her in to use her for their experiments. Not that he found anything wrong with that, after all, he was a soldier fighting for them, after all.

Loki shook his head and looked the girl over. She had short dark hair that was cropped and styled to look spiky at the bottom. Her clothing consisted of a black and green shirt that buttoned up in the middle, black pants with a green line running down the middle of each leg that were tucked into the black and green boots. A black jacket with green trim overlapped all this, the sleeves ending just below her elbows and strips of yellow-orange ribbon with red writing dangled from the sleeves just below the shoulders, a small metal ring was attached to each ribbon. She also wore black gloves with this. He'd been told there was a mask that went with this look as well, but right now she wasn't wearing it, and her pitch black eyes unsettled him more often than he could count. It was a side effect of the experiment, they said, but still, he couldn't even see her pupils because of it and that was just eerie.

He took a deep breath and shifted his stance slightly, preparing for another assault. In all this time, though she defended herself well, she never moved to kill, which was a good thing for him. If she moved with more purpose, he'd probably quit working with her here and now. But as it was, he wasn't worried about her killing him, just trying to see if she had a weakness. Loki charged forward and swung his blade along the ground before making a final slash upward just as she turned to face him, throwing dirt into her face. He switched directions just before she could strike and defend against the dirt and struck at her from another side. "Beast!" He called out, summoning his strength for the attack. The burst of blue light roared forth in the shape of a lion's head and created a cloud of dust and dirt.

He jumped back and panted a little, at least this time he had finally managed to not get hit in retaliation. But... did his attack strike home? As the dust started to settle down, he caught the distinctive glimpse of shimmering green that meant she had called on a mana shield. Damn, so his attack didn't hit. The green shield dispersed as the last of the dirt landed to the ground, she lowered her arms to her sides and stared ahead of her again. Loki frowned and sighed, not sure how else to play this out. He had tried every strategy that he knew of, and even made up a few more to try and figure her out, but nothing had worked.

"That is very good work, Loki. I believe you've done your job." A woman's voice said from above.

Loki looked up and sure enough, there was Lady Morcana standing on the wooden platform overlooking the arena. He bowed his head in respect to her as she started to come down the stairs. "Nothing breaks through her defense, as you suspected." He said as he heard her boots crunch in the dirt.

"Yes. Aurora is quite remarkable, is she not? To think the experiment was so successful on this girl, when it failed with all others." She trilled with a smirk on her face. She was circling the girl like a hawk, but made no threatening gestures, so Aurora didn't move at all.

"She is extraordinary. I feel honored just to have had the chance to test her defensive capabilities." He said slowly, knowing that saying the wrong thing could mean imprisonment, torture, or death. Speaking to Lady Morcana alone was a privilege in and of itself and if you offended her, bad things happened to you. He kept his head slightly bowed, she didn't like direct eye contact with those she felt were inferior to her, he knew from experience. He'd had the misfortune of doing so once and being punished for it.

"Good. Now, we just need to find a way to send her into battle to test her offensive capabilities. Any ideas, Loki?" Lady Morcana asked, directing her question at him without turning to look at him.

"There is a small bandit hideout nearby we could raid. And a monster dwelling in a cave not far from here as well. Either one would be good for a test, to see what she is capable of." He replied. "These are the only suggestions I know of, my Lady. And the decision is yours, of course." He added.

"Hmm, the bandit hideout has potential. But, if the monster is particularly strong, that would also prove just as good." She placed a single finger to her lips as she thought it over. "Test them both out first thing tomorrow. I will expect a full report from you when the deed is done." Lady Morcana said, giving him his orders before she turned on her heel and walked back up the steps to the platform.

"Yes, of course, my Lady. I will report to you first thing when we finish tomorrow." He said with a salute. When he heard the door open and close, he let out a sigh of relief and looked over at Aurora. Sheathing his sword, he walked over and gently reached out for her wrist. "Come on, you can't just stand out here all night." He said as he led her into the barracks. He knew she didn't eat or sleep or feel pain or even talk, but he wouldn't feel right leaving her outside all night. He left her to stand by the side of one of the beds as he went around and prepared food for his dinner. Tomorrow was going to be very different than his usual training, and he found he was actually very curious about Aurora's abilities as well.

* * *

There were tons of options for their next move, but everyone was suggesting something different. Josh was suggesting they find the rest of the Tethe'allan army and inform them of Meltokio's downfall. Morgan was suggesting that they find a way to retaliate against the Sylvarant army. And Kratos was suggesting they travel around first to gather more information before making any moves. Everyone had a different opinion, and none of them were relenting. Currently there was a heated discussion going on in the other room while Mithos sighed and glanced over at Luna.

She was sitting on a chair, quietly looking out the nearby window at the sky, the same way his sister was doing back in the room they were assigned. Kaylee was making an effort to keep quiet, but he could tell she wanted to charge into the room and yell at the guys for being stubborn. Heck, he wanted to do the very same thing even though it wasn't his place. Mithos frowned, wishing Martel was here, she would probably offer her opinion as well, but she'd been out of it after seeing that blue-haired man again. It hadn't been as bad when they were escaping the city, but it had gotten more noticeable over the past few days.

"What's going on in there?" Mithos paused and turned to look at his sister. Martel was staring at the door to the other room, frowning.

"The guys are arguing over what we should do next." Kaylee answered, sounding extremely bored.

"No one is willing to back down from their suggestion." Luna added with a weak smile. "I tried going in there already to tell them to make a decision, but they still haven't." She said.

Yeah, that hadn't been the best thing. Mithos remembered hearing Josh and Morgan snap at her angrily, before she came out of the room, tears in her eyes. Kratos had come out of the room a few seconds later to say something to her. He hadn't heard that conversation because they were whispering, but he guessed it had something to do with Kratos berating the two younger guys about treating her that way. That was good, because Luna was really nice, and there was no need for them to get mad at her.

Martel looked at Luna and then at the door again. "We should be making these decisions as a group." She said before she walked towards the door. She turned to look at the rest of them. "Well, are you coming in or am I going in there to face them alone?" She asked.

Mithos stood up from his chair immediately. He wasn't going to let his sister in there alone to argue with the others. Besides, he wanted to see their reactions when she spoke to them. He didn't hate Kratos or Josh, but neither of them were half-elves, and he didn't know either of them very well. He didn't trust either of them, even though both of them had been nothing but nice since he met them.

"No, you won't be alone." Luna's voice spoke up and he turned to look at her. She still seemed upset over how she was treated earlier, but she looked determined.

"I've been wanting to yell at them for being stubborn idiots." Kaylee announced with a grin. "So of course I'm coming in with you as well." The dark-haired girl added.

Martel smiled before she turned and walked into the room. The girls followed close behind her and Mithos took up the rear. The guys were still arguing in the room, but as they entered the roar died down as everyone turned to look at them.

"I hear we can't come to a decision." Martel said calmly, stepping forward.

Kratos, Morgan and Josh exchanged looks and then all three broke out into an explanation. Martel held up a hand for silence and they stopped talking immediately. "I can't hear you if you all speak at the same time. Now, what are our options?" She asked.

"I suggested we inform the Tethe'allan army about Meltokio." Josh said, crossing his arms and glancing at the other two guys.

"I think we should retaliate against Sylvarant. They need to understand exactly what they've done." Morgan said, glaring at the blond elf.

Kratos sighed. "I believe it is in all of our best interests to travel and gather more information before we proceed with any plan." He added.

"I see." Martel said, nodding once. "Retaliating will only cause more pain and suffering and will only fan the flames of war further. We don't need that happening. And it's been several days since we left the city behind and stopped to rest here. Word has probably already spread across Tethe'alla, so we don't need to do that ourselves." She continued. "If we're going to put an end to all of the fighting, we're going to need a better plan."

"Martel is right. This whole war is stupid, we should be trying to stop it, not fan the flames." Luna agreed readily. "Kratos has the right of it, we should gather more information."

Kaylee punched a fist into her other hand. "Yep, and you guys were too stubborn to see that. Come here, Josh. Morgan. I'm gonna pound some sense into the two of you!" She exclaimed, rushing at them. She tackled Josh to the ground and punched him firmly in the abdomen and then leaped over the table at Morgan, landing a swift punch to his chest as he tried to back away from her.

"Ow! Dammit, Kaylee, your punches hurt!" Josh complained, frowning.

Mithos noticed that Kratos was smiling slightly. It was kind of funny how she'd attacked them both. "So, where do we go first?" Mithos asked.

* * *

He could see that the border was just ahead, a large crowd of people were waiting to get through. Yuan frowned slightly as he drew closer. Voices were raised, some in terrified alarm, others in sheer anger; there was obviously something very wrong here.

"Dammit! Let us through! We have families across the border!" One man was yelling.

Yuan narrowed his eyes as he moved off to the side to avoid being seen. From what he could gather, the guards weren't letting anyone cross the border into Sylvarant. He needed to get to the other side if he was going to resign from the army. It had taken him most of the day to walk here on foot, so the sun would be setting in a couple of hours. With a sigh, Yuan crept along the border wall to look for a place to rest until nightfall.

After finding a cozy spot, he laid down his pack and removed his sword from his belt before settling down to rest. He had found a nook in the border wall where it connected with the nearby mountain, so he was well hidden from view. Still, he kept a tight grip on his sword and pack as he closed his eyes...

_..."Why can't I come along with you, Rorik?" Yuan asked, glaring at his older brother._

_"Because you're too young, far too reckless, you can't follow orders, and you have no skill with fighting." The older half-elf said, carefully tucking away his shoulder length blue hair, which was a shade darker than Yuan's own. Rorik turned around and looked down at the young half-elf, his green eyes sad. "Don't worry, I'll come back with plenty of stories to tell." Rorik said as he walked out the door._

_Yuan stood alone in the middle of the room, eye wide as the door closed behind his brother. Who knew that would be the last time he ever saw him?_

_A few months later, Yuan awoke to the sound of crying. Confused, he pushed the covers off and hurried downstairs to find out what was going on. Two men in soldier's uniforms were in the living room, his mother was sitting on the couch, crying. "Mom? What... what's wrong?" Yuan asked, stepping into the room._

_"Y-yuan. Go back to bed." The woman said, trying to shoo him from the room._

_Yuan dodged around her and stared at the soldiers. "What happened? Where is my brother?" He asked them instead._

_The two exchanged a look and the shorter of the two knelt down and placed a hand on Yuan's shoulder. "I'm sorry kid. Your brother died in battle about a week ago." The soldier said in a sad but gentle tone._

_Yuan's eyes widened and he looked back and forth between the strangers. A moment later he noticed the Swallow out of the corner of his eye and he knew they weren't lying. His lip quivered slightly before he ran from the room._

_"Yuan!" His mother called after him, but he was already halfway down the street and still running..._

The sound of footsteps nearby woke him and Yuan brandished his sword for a moment until he remembered that he was hidden. Quietly, he got to his feet and moved to the way out of his hiding spot. A young couple were walking by, the young man mumbling something about the guards. They were gone as quickly as they had appeared and he relaxed slightly.

It was already dark out now and he was beginning to wonder just how long he'd been asleep. A few hours at the least, possibly more. Yuan shook his head as he gathered his pack and tied his sword back to his belt. Now was as good a time as any to try and slip past the border, and he was even in the best spot to get started. He reached up and began climbing the rocky wall, trying to be quiet, but quick.

"What was that noise?" A voice overhead called out.

Yuan paused and pressed himself as close to the rock as he could. His heart was already starting to pound in his chest, but he calmed his breathing. He could hear someone walking along the border wall above him and hoped that they couldn't see him.

"I thought I heard something." The voice sighed and the footsteps started to walk away.

Yuan waited a few extra minutes until he couldn't hear anyone above before he started climbing again. After a few more minutes of climbing, he pulled himself up onto the border wall and looked down the walkway. The guard he had heard earlier was on the other side now, facing away from him. With a smirk, Yuan crept over to the other edge of the wall and looked for a way down. He spotted a way down after a bit and hopped over the edge, climbing down carefully until he reached the lower ledge. It wasn't far from the ground now so he jumped down, the landing jarred him a bit, but otherwise he was fine as he took off at a run away from the border.

He didn't stop running until he couldn't see the wall anymore, and by that time, the sun was starting to rise again. He really had slept for far longer than he'd thought. Yuan huffed out a sigh and kept walking.

By the end of the following day, he was completely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. He couldn't do that yet, however, not now that he was so close. Yuan looked up at the large double doors and steeled himself before pushing his way inside the building.

The entry hall was lavishly decorated, a guard stood to either side of the door, watching him. As he took a step forward, one of them approached him. "What business do you have here?" The guard asked.

"I need to speak with General Miranu." Yuan stated calmly.

"Your name?" The guard sounded really bored now.

"Yuan Ka-Fai." He replied with a sigh.

The guard looked up at him again. "Commander Ka-Fai? We heard you perished in Meltokio."

"That's a nasty rumor." Yuan said darkly, eyes narrowed. "I'm here now and I need to see the General."

"Yes, sir! I will inform him of your arrival." The guard turned and walked away down the hall before disappearing into a side room.

Yuan was left standing at the door for several minutes until the guard came back, followed by someone else. General Miranu was an older man, a human in his late forties, with short graying hair. While his face was lined with age, he still retained a rather youthful appearance despite his age. He was wearing a heavy set of black plate armor with a gold cloak draped to the side behind him. Deep blue eyes looked him over before a very slight smile alighted on the man's face.

"Ah, Yuan, we feared the worst had happened to you." General Miranu said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Yuan shrugged away from the man's grasp, not really in the mood to be chummy. "So I've heard." He replied. "I didn't exactly come back with good news, though."

"I see." The older man nodded solemnly and gestured to the nearby door. "Let's have a chat, at least."

Yuan wasn't really sure about the idea seeing as he wanted to be able to leave quickly in case things went bad, but he didn't see how he had much of a choice. He nodded and followed the man into a small room with a table and four chairs inside it. There was a small hearth with a fire already going, but he barely noticed the warmth of the room.

The sound of a sword being drawn caught his attention. Yuan drew his own sword and spun around just in time to parry the General's blade.

* * *

**And that would be the end of the chapter. Sorry it took me so damn long to upload. I got into a terrible writer's block, then had a lot of personal issues I'd rather not mention. Plus the ending of this chapter kept eluding me. So, here we have a cliffhanger. ^ ^**

**Anyway, read, enjoy, and review.**


End file.
